NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said on Tuesday some level of restrictions would still be needed even when 80 per cent of the state’s population is vaccinated against the virus.

Australia as a whole is forecast to reach that level at the start of 2022, but Dr Chant said even then residents may still have to wear masks in high-risk indoor settings.

‘The Doherty Report modelling says that at 80 per cent you have options and choices – but that’s not to say you’re not going to have to respond with a level of restrictions,’ she said.

‘It may be that we actually have indoor mask-wearing for years in certain settings.