Children and teenagers aged 18 years and under will be able to visit each other's homes in groups of three under a NSW "friends bubble".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The new rule, announced on Tuesday, will apply only to households where all adults are fully vaccinated.
From midday today, people aged 18 years and under who live in stay-at-home areas and areas of concern across NSW will be able to create a bubble of three friends and visit each other's homes for play and activity.
The rule is subject to the following conditions:
- Each child is allowed to have two designated friends come to their house. These two friends must always be the same, creating a three-person bubble.
- All people older than 18 years in all the households must be fully vaccinated.
- The friends must live within 5km of each other or in the same LGA.
- If parents/carers are dropping children off, they must not stay to interact with other parents or carers.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said strong vaccination rates had allowed the state to make the change to support the wellbeing of young people.
"Parents and children have had a difficult few months, trying to balance both work, often from home, as well as home schooling," she said.
"This change will hopefully make a big difference for families during the school holidays and allow young children and teenagers to catch up and reconnect with their friends."
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the change would allow students to create a study bubble before the HSC.
"Year 12 students have had a stressful few months, and with the HSC approaching, a study bubble is a great idea to help students maintain motivation, receive support from a classmate and continue their preparation for the upcoming exams," Ms Mitchell said.
In the news
- Paralympian Lauren Parker conquers the pain barrier with sheer courage
- Federal government declares Hunter a national hydrogen hub
- NSW daily COVID-19 cases fall to 935
- Sayle Newson faces sentence hearing for 2014 murder of Carly McBride
- Teenager accused of Swansea murder, attempted murder refused bail in children's court
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark: newcastleherald.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News