AFTER two years of doing everything possible to minimise the spread of the COVID-19 virus, a wide range of government restrictions are being lifted or downgraded in time for Christmas.
Having eased conditions on November 8 for those with proof of their double vaccination, the NSW government insists it is full steam ahead for the next round of changes, which take effect tomorrow, treating everyone the same, in most instances, regardless of their vaccination status.
This determination to "live with COVID" - as Premier Dominic Perrottet puts it - has been quickly put to the test with the arrival of the Omicron variant.
And whether it's Omicron or Delta, the speed with which the daily case total can rise is on full display with the outbreak of cases in Newcastle, stemming, it seems, from The Argyle House nightclub on Wharf Road last Wednesday night, in which at least 84 of some 680 people who checked in that night with their QR codes subsequently tested positive.
And there may yet be more.
On Sunday, The Argyle House posted a statement on Instagram confirming three people had been at the nightclub while infectious last Wednesday night, and that all who had attended that night needed to go for testing. It promised though, that "we'll be back partying on Wednesday", which is tomorrow night.
The Argyle House outbreak and a series of cases at a students' ball at NEX Newcastle on Friday night dominated yesterday's daily COVID statement from the Hunter New England Local Area Health District.
Although QR codes will still be needed after tomorrow to enter a range of sensitive or high-risk facilities - including licensed venues as well as hospitals, aged and care facilities, gyms and places of worship - the broader winding back of coronavirus control provisions will logically make it harder for the authorities to accurately track the progress of this or any future outbreaks.
At the same time as controls are relaxing, medical authorities are accelerating the provision of booster vaccinations - an acknowledgement that the vaccines we have are a less than complete guard against infection.
The Premier needs to recognise that the freedoms he is promoting are counterproductive if they help make people ill, or worse.
