Major stadiums in Sydney will soon be able to operate at 50 per cent capacity but patrons will be expected to wear masks as they make their way to their seats under an easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
The announcement comes as NSW recorded five new COVID-19 cases on Thursday including two in hotel quarantine, two linked to known clusters, and one which is under investigation and could be a false-positive.
The potential false-positive case is from the Murrumbidgee area with a second test returning a negative result.
One of the two locally acquired cases is a healthcare worker from Concord Hospital with 21 cases now linked to the Concord and Liverpool Hospitals emergency departments cluster.
The second case is linked to the Eastern Suburbs Legion Club with that cluster now growing to nine cases.
Both the new cases were in self-isolation while infectious.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the state continues to do well in managing the spread of COVID-19 with health advice allowing for an easing of restrictions in relation to major venues.
Stadiums including Bankwest Stadium in western Sydney, the SCG in Moore Park and ANZ Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park, will from October 1 be able to operate at 50 per cent capacity rather than 25 per cent.
But, Ms Berejiklian says there are a number of caveats with the increase in capacity to only apply to major once-a-year events.
"I assume outside annual major events the stadia won't be anywhere near that capacity for ordinary matches or events - that capacity will not be achieved at all," she told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.
People will also be expected to wear masks when getting to and from their seats. Once seated, they won't need to wear a mask.
Sports Minister Stuart Ayres says this increase in capacity will allow Bankwest Stadium to hold 15,000 people, the SCG to host 23,000 people with up to 40,000 people allowed at ANZ Stadium.
The NSW government has also said it would accept an extra 500 Australians returning from overseas each week, provided Queensland and Western Australia double their intake.
The premier said she was prepared to accept almost 3000 returning citizens per week, with the daily cap to rise from 350 to about 420, after reaching an agreement with Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday.
