Australia's most populous state, home to Sydney, will allow restaurants, playgrounds and outdoor pools to reopen on Friday as extensive testing has shown the spread of the coronavirus has slowed sharply, New South Wales state's premier said on Sunday.
Emer McCarthy reports.
New South Wales -- Australia's largest state -- will begin loosening its lockdown measures on Friday- Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Sunday (May 10).
Cafes and restaurants will be allowed to seat ten patrons at a time, outdoor gatherings of up to ten people, and visits of up to five people to a household will be permitted.
Playgrounds and outdoor pools will also be allowed to reopen with strict limits.
Weddings, which had been restricted to two guests, will be able to host up to ten guests, and indoor funerals will be allowed to have 20 mourners.
New South Wales has been worst hit by the coronavirus in Australia, with about 45% of the country's confirmed cases and deaths.
But it recorded just two new cases on Saturday out of nearly 10,000 people tested ''The only difference between May and March is the fact that we have far less cases in May.
We need to keep it that way.
That is the only difference.
But unfortunately the virus is very contagious.
We're heading into colder months.
And that's why it is so important for all of us not to be complacent.
The second we let our guard down, the virus will start winning again and I can't stress that enough.'' Meantime in Melbourne, dozens protested against lockdown measures outside Victoria's state parliament on Sunday (May 10) with police arresting 10 people for breaching coronavirus restrictions on large gatherings.
The NSW plans are in line with a three-step plan to relax lockdown measures outlined by the Australian government on Friday (May 8), which would see nearly 1 million people return to work by July.
