Coronavirus pandemic LIVE: Urgent testing after Sydney arrivals from southern Africa test positive to COVID-19; Border bans flagged as Omicron variant alarms chief health officers

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said this morning that “for the moment” his government intends to stick to plans to relax restrictions from December 15 despite two travellers originating from Africa testing positive to COVID-19 overnight.

“There are problems that will always come our way,” Mr Perrottet told Sky News. “The best thing we can do as a state is keep that vaccination level as high as possible.”

Health officials are scrambling to undertake genomic testing to determine if the travellers have brought the Omicron strain to Sydney.

“This is a reminder that there is a long journey to go, and we think we have always had a fair and balanced approach,” the premier said.

On December 15, unvaccinated people will be permitted to access non-essential shops as well as hospitality; and rules around masks will be eased to high-risk settings only.

“We will work through this,” Mr Perrottet said. “We will have meetings with our health teams and the federal government in the next few days.

“The best thing we can do is get vaccinated and get booster shots.”

At present, 92.4 per cent of NSW residents aged 16+ are fully vaccinated. Boosters are available six months after a person’s second shot.