Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Australia's most populous state eases virus restrictions on sport

Published 02/06/2020, 04:45
Updated 02/06/2020, 04:45

By Colin Packham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's most populous state will open up some sports facilities from the middle of June, officials said on Tuesday, after nearly a week with no new cases of coronavirus via community transmission.

States and territories across Australia have been easing social distancing regulations at differing paces in recent weeks, slowly ending a partial lockdown ordered in March in a bid to slow the pandemic.

Restaurants, cafes, bars and shops have begun reopening, in most places with limits on the number of patrons, as officials try to jumpstart Australia's economy.

New South Wales, home to one-third of the country's population and the bulk of its infections, said gyms, indoor swimming pools and saunas will be allowed to reopen from June 13. Children's community sport will be permitted from July 1.

"Sport is in the DNA of everyone in Australia," NSW Sport Minister Geoff Lee told reporters in Sydney. "Its important not only for the mental wellbeing but for their physical fitness."

States and territories have pledged to remove the majority of social distance restrictions by July as the number of new daily cases has slowed to either single digit or low double digits.

Australia has not reported a death from the disease for more than a week. It has recorded 102 COVID-19 deaths from almost 7,200 infections.

There are 493 active cases in the country with just two people being treated on ventilators. NSW has not reported a case of community transmission for almost a week.

Officials in Queensland removed the death of a 30-year-old man last week from the tally of fatalities after tests revealed he had not died from COVID-19. The man's death in a remote part of the country had baffled authorities, given there were no other local cases.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A woman poses for a picture in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.