Here's what you need to know this morning.
Easing of aged care rules
Unvaccinated people will be allowed to visit residents in aged care homes across NSW from next Monday.
Chief health officer Kerry Chant signed off on the change, which brings NSW in line with rules in both Victoria and Queensland.
However, aged care facilities can choose to maintain vaccination requirements for visitors if they wish and it will still be mandatory for all workers to be vaccinated.
The rule that only two adults and two children can visit a resident each day has also now been downgraded to a recommendation.
NSW is bracing for a peak in COVID cases over the coming weeks and hospital admissions are quickly climbing.
Office occupancy steady despite hurdles
The number of workers heading into their Sydney CBD offices remained steady in June despite disruptions to the train network, increasing COVID cases and wild weather.
The latest data from the Property Council of Australia shows office occupancy remained stable at 55 per cent last month, which was the same rate recorded in May.
But Sydney is trailing when compared to other capital cities, with Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth all seeing rates between 60 and 71 per cent.
The council's executive director, Luke Achterstraat, said there was still significant growth to be seen and pushed against the return of any COVID mandates in NSW.
"Now is not the time to be bringing back conversations about work from home advice or mask mandates in offices," he said.
The latest survey found the preference for greater flexibility including working from home was the major driver of occupancy levels.
Sydney unit prices skyrocketing, data shows
Sydney unit rental prices are skyrocketing with new data showing they are now higher than they were at the start of the pandemic and are closing in on the 2018 record-high average.
The figures released by real estate website Domain show unit rent prices continue to rise faster than houses, surging by 5 per cent in the June quarter to an average of $525 a week.
The report stated this was the steepest annual increase in 14 years.
And unit rental prices are closing in on the 2018 record-high of $550.
Disease outbreak could cost economy $80 billion
New South Wales Regional Minister Paul Toole says an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the state could cost the economy $80 billion.
Travellers from Indonesia are being urged to declare on arrival any contact they may have had with animals.
"For those people that are returning, it may be as simple as just throwing away those thongs and actually getting a new pair of shoes when you arrive," Mr Toole said.
Meanwhile, a regional agricultural group said it was using social media to educate non-rural Australians about the dangers of the disease.
Riverine Plains CEO Catherine Marriott said they were making the issue personal to cut through.
"If you enjoy eating fresh, healthy and safe Australian-grown meat, that won't happen if this disease gets in, so trying to actually help them see what's in it for them as well as actually helping protect the agricultural sector," Ms Marriott said.
Flood-affected oyster growers stay strong
Hawkesbury River oyster growers, north of Sydney, say the industry faces a bleak future after being hit by yet another major flood but insist they are "not going anywhere".
Pete O'Sullivan lost more than half his stock during the March floods.
Now he, along with the remaining few oyster farmers left on the river at Mooney Mooney, said it was too early to know the extent of their latest losses.
Mr O'Sullivan says he has already been forced to lay off two staff but is adamant he will not be walking away.
Fellow farmer Sheridan Beaumont said she was expecting mass losses but they had "just got [to] hang on for that little bit longer to get past this period."
Ms Beaumont believed the repeated disasters will come at a cost to consumers as well as local growers.
