(LifeSiteNews) – The Premier of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, brought forward plans to reopen the economy exclusively to the “fully vaccinated” and to bar those who have not taken the abortion-tainted COVID shots from access to many public places and placing a restriction on drinking alcohol while standing at weddings.
In a November 2 announcement, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet eased the rules for the fully vaccinated, allowing those who have taken a full regimen of a COVID-19 jab to use public amenities and businesses starting November 8 instead of December 1. All visitors age 12 and over will still be required to wear a face mask and “check-in” to the premises for the purposes of tracking movement.
The un-jabbed, which includes anyone who has received only one shot of a two-dose inoculation course, are only permitted to access what the NSW government has determined to be a “critical retail premises,” including grocery stores, fuel stations, news agents, pharmacies, and pet supply stores, according to the state government’s website. In order to legally visit one of these stores, a face mask must be worn at all times, and “check-in” details must be supplied to the business.
However, akin to the severe impositions on the unvaccinated announced in the neighboring state of Queensland earlier this month, access to all other businesses, including hairdressers, beauty salons, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, museums, gyms, public pools, zoos, arenas, and theme parks is strictly prohibited. Gathering outdoors with more than one person who is not part of the same household for anyone who is not double jabbed is also banned.
Strip clubs and businesses providing “sex services” are permitted to reopen to the “fully vaccinated.”
Stuart Ayres, the Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism, and Western Sydney, said the decision to segregate the citizenry based on vaccination status was crucial for the “state’s recovery” from the virus.
Explaining that vaccination uptake has “exceeded our expectations,” Ayres said he was happy to permit the jabbed to access public areas sooner while “just holding back unvaccinated people for another couple of weeks.”
“It’s in line with the decision we made around not allowing people to travel into regional NSW until we had slightly higher rates of vaccination,” he said, adding that the measures are intended as “a really clear message … We want to get to 95 percent [jabbed] and encourage people to go out to get vaccinated.”
Evidence of vaccination must be provided for those who have been jabbed to enter all of the affected venues. A digital app provided by the NSW government will allow those who have taken the shot to display their status. The government website notes that jabbed individuals must carry evidence of their inoculation to produce “if requested to do so by a police officer or authorised officer.”
A medical exemption to the vaccine requirement exists, which can be obtained by consultation with a physician. If a determination of medical exemption is granted, such a person will be given a “medical contraindication certificate or a medical clearance form” to prove their status and be given permission to access all the same buildings as those considered vaccinated. No religious exemption is currently listed.
People age 16 or older are also barred by the government from visiting friends and family if they have not received the jab, save for very “limited circumstances.”
The un-jabbed may visit private residences for work, childcare provision, an emergency involving “injury, illness or risk of harm,” to buy or lease a property, or for “compassionate reasons.”
Compassionate reasons are described as “providing care or assistance to vulnerable people” and “visiting a person you are in a relationship with but do not live with.”
Employers are mandated by the government to keep any un-jabbed or single- jabbed employees working from home “unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so,” for example in the construction industry.
Healthcare workers, care home workers, and teachers in NSW are all required to have taken the jab before being permitted to return to work.
While places of worship are allowed to open their doors to all members of the public as long as masks are worn indoors, special rules apply for attending weddings and funerals. For those who have received the jab, weddings can proceed with “1 person per 2 square metres of space for indoor and outdoor areas.”
If any one attendee has not received the shot, the wedding must be limited to no more than 11 people, broken down as “the people getting married, the person marrying them, 2 witnesses, a person to record the service, 5 guests.”
Moreover, “[a]ll people who are not fully vaccinated at a small wedding service must be seated while consuming alcohol and while eating and drinking,” the rules stipulate.
Similar rules apply to funerals, at which only 10 people may attend if there is anyone unvaccinated present. According to the regulation, “[a]ll people at a small funeral or memorial service must be seated while consuming food and drink.”
Meanwhile, coronavirus vaccine trials have never produced evidence that the vaccines stop infection or transmission. Neither do they claim to reduce hospitalization, but the measurement of success is in preventing severe symptoms of COVID-19 disease.
As COVID cases have surged in heavily vaccinated countries like Israel, the U.K., and the United States, including among vaccinated individuals, hopes that vaccination would prevent infection or halt transmission have dwindled.