New Year's Eve celebrations are on a knife edge as health authorities continue to scramble to get the Sydney's Northern Beaches coronavirus cluster under control
Sydneysiders have been forced to place their New Year's Eve plans on hold as they anxiously await a decision on social distancing measures.
Tough restrictions were reintroduced last week after the Northern Beaches coronavirus cluster continued to grow.
NSW Premier Gladys Berijiklian gave a temporary reprieve for residents for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Those rules will be scrapped at 12.01am on December 27 with Ms Berijiklian to announce rules for New Year's Eve and the beginning of January in the coming days.
Christmas rules for the Northern Beaches will be scrapped from December 27 as health authorities debate what the restrictions will be for New Year's Eve (pictured, testing clinic in November)
The NSW government is yet to announce restrictions for New Year's Eve (Fireworks display pictured in 2020)
'Everybody should assume they're watching the fireworks from home this year,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Sydneysiders are already getting nervous for what the future may hold with many taking to social media to vent their frustration.
'We live on the Northern Beaches and have our wedding booked in the Hunter for January 3. Can we have some advice NSW Health,' one person wrote on Facebook.
Northern Beaches residents said they were fed-up with the targeted lockdown after COVID-19 was detected in the region.
'Why is the whole of Northern Beaches in lockdown again, shouldn’t it be just the northern end where the cluster was,' one person said on Facebook.
'We’ve all done our bit and complied with the restrictions. You can’t ease rules and then tighten them.'
Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore has called on the NSW government to cancel the New Year's Eve fireworks in the wake of the state's growing COVID outbreak.
She said that if the state's police and health authorities believe the event cannot be held safely then the celebrations should not go ahead.
The fireworks display will be cut down to a seven-minute event at midnight on the Harbour Bridge, and the children's 9pm fireworks are cancelled.
The annual fireworks celebration draws an estimated one million people to Sydney Harbour and its surrounds.
Currently, Residents will only be able to gain access to cordoned-off 'green zones' around Circular Quay and North Sydney by either applying for a permit on the Service NSW website or having a booking for a restaurant or event inside the zoned areas.
The 'yellow zones' are created around the green zone and are not restricted to residents or visitors, but people gathering in these areas in large numbers may be moved on by police.
NSW Premier Gladys Berijiklian (pictured/ gave a temporary reprieve for Northern Beaches and Greater Sydney residents for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day
Ms Moore said council has expressed concern over the safety of the New Years Festivities, as the Northern Beaches cluster continues to grow.
For those in the Northern Beaches area north of the Narrabeen Bridge and east of the Baha'i Temple people must stay at home, and only leave the home for essential reasons.
People may gather in groups of five for exercise but they mist be a northern zone resident.
The same applies for the southern zone in the Northern Beaches but they may gather in groups of ten for outdoor activities and they must be a southern resident.
Greater Sydney, Wollongong, The Central Coast are allowed 10 people in a residence - including children.
Rules for outdoor gatherings, beaches and parks have not changed, while hospitality venues must stick to the four-square-metre rule.
This would be in place until December 30.
Eight new cases were linked to the Avalon cluster, which now sits at 116 cases, and the remaining infection remains under investigation (pictured, deserted Collaroy beach on Boxing Day
There were nine new locally acquired coronavirus cases recorded across the state on Saturday, after almost 40,000 people went for a test on Christmas Day.
Eight were linked to the Avalon cluster, which now sits at 116 cases, and the remaining infection remains under investigation.
Ms Berejiklian said the case could be a false positive.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said: 'We are relying on serological testing and repeat testing on that case turning negative.'
'We are looking at whether they could be a false positive or an old case.
'We are taking a very precautionary approach.'
It comes after police from the NSW public order and riot squad were called to help break up a large crowd at nearby Bronte Beach on Christmas afternoon.