Sydney, Oct 17 (IANS): Australia's most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) has crossed the milestone of 80 per cent of its population above the age of 16 being fully vaccinated against Covid-19, prompting the state government to announce the further easing of restrictions from Monday.

From Monday, fully vaccinated residents would be allowed to participate in community sports, have 20 visitors to their homes and masks would no longer be required in office spaces, reports Xinhua news agency.

Furthermore, limits on funerals and weddings have been lifted and indoor dancing and drinking while standing would be allowed at clubs and pubs across the state.

"NSW has led the way in this space and very much it is the people of NSW that is leading a nation out of this pandemic," NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet told reporters on Sunday.

Cases in NSW, once the epicentre of the latest outbreak, have also continued to fall.

In the last 24 hours, NSW recorded 301 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19, and 10 additional deaths.