National

COVID safety urged for Halloween night

By AAP Newswire

Oct 31, 2021

The annual fund-raising Zombie walk in Sydney — NSW and Victoria have urged caution for Halloween, as both states see improvement in COVID numbers.

The governments of Australia's two major states, which are only just emerging from lengthy coronavirus lockdowns, are urging people to stay safe at Halloween gatherings on Sunday.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said kids should try to remain socially distanced if they can and ensure that lollies are wrapped.

"I don't think you're supposed to be safe at Halloween, are you, but from COVID I'd like you to be safe," Mr Hazzard told reporters in Sydney.

"Don't be spooked by COVID, just enjoy the rest of Halloween."

In Victoria, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton wants parents and children planning to go house to house collecting lollies to stick to the rules, especially since those under 12 aren't yet eligible for a vaccine.

Any Halloween parties in homes cannot have more than 10 visitors, in line with the state's current gathering restrictions.

The safety warnings came as the country recorded relative low new virus cases.

NSW reported 177 new COVID-19 infections, the lowest tally in more than three months. There was one death, an unvaccinated woman in her 70s.

In Victoria, a further 1036 cases were recorded, the lowest number in a month, along with 12 more virus-related deaths of people aged between 50 and 90.

The state's death toll from the current outbreak stands at 305 and 1122 since the start of the pandemic.

In the ACT, there were just seven new cases.

Meanwhile, quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to Australia will resume from Monday.

Tourism Minister Dan Tehan says it is another important marker on the road to recovery and will be a major boost for tourism and confidence.

"Tourism Australia will look to scale up its marketing activities in New Zealand, with an immediate focus on building confidence and broadening knowledge of the depth of Australia's tourism offering," Mr Tehan said.

"It will encourage more Australians to dust off their passport and plan their next holiday."

But closer to home, Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox wants states and territories to apply commonsense to their pathways to living with COVID.

"A dog's breakfast of state-based COVID rules is making it extremely difficult for individuals and businesses to understand and comply with many aspects of the transition to living with COVID," Mr Willox said.

"When setting their COVID rules the states and territories should consider the need for people to understand and respect the practices they are required to adopt. This is fundamental to the effectiveness of rules in relation to health, wellbeing and the recovery of the economy."