Sydney residents who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 risk being barred from various social activities even when they are freed from stay-at-home orders in December, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned on Tuesday 28 September.
Under a roadmap to exit lockdown in Australia's biggest city, unvaccinated people are already subject to delays in freedoms that will be gradually granted to inoculated residents between Oct. 11 and Dec. 1.
Berejiklian said people who choose not to be vaccinated could be barred entry to shops, restaurants and entertainment venues even after the state lifts all restrictions against them on Dec. 1.
"A lot of businesses have said they will not accept anyone who is unvaccinated," Berejiklian told Seven News on Tuesday. "Life for the unvaccinated will be very difficult indefinitely".
The two-tier system, designed to encourage more people to get vaccinated, has been criticized for both penalizing vulnerable groups who have not had access to inoculations and for falling short of providing a real incentive for the vaccine-hesitant.
Pubs, cafes, gyms, and hairdressers will reopen to fully vaccinated people on Oct. 11 in New South Wales, home to Sydney, and more curbs will be eased once 80% of its adult population becomes fully vaccinated, expected by the end of October.
Australia is pursuing a faster reopening through higher vaccination rates despite persistent infections, largely in its two biggest cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Along with the capital Canberra, both cities are in a weeks-long lockdown.
The Delta-fuelled outbreak has divided state and territory leaders, with some presiding over virus-free parts of the country indicating they will defy a federal plan to reopen internal borders once the adult population reaches 80% vaccination, expected in November. The national vaccine rate is currently around 52%.
"The strongest possible reason to be vaccinated is to save your life," Hunt said.