First published on Sun 20 Dec 2020 23.52 EST
A hard lockdown across Sydney for the next three days is needed to reduce the risk of Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve becoming super spreader events, some health experts have warned.
The dual celebrations could lead to thousands of new cases in the first weeks of 2021 without drastic action, warned Prof Raina MacIntyre, the head of the biosecurity program at the University of New South Wales’ Kirby Institute.
But other epidemiologists have suggested the current localised lockdown and limit on gatherings is the way to go. They argue the state’s “very skilled’” public health team has previously gotten on top of outbreaks and it should be trusted to do so again.