Most Australians won’t be locked down over Christmas after the NSW government eased restrictions on gatherings in Sydney’s COVID-19 hotspot. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says northern beaches residents will be allowed limited visitors over Christmas after eight new locally acquired cases were reported in the 24 hours to 8pm on December 22. The NSW changes mean that people in every state and territory, who are not in quarantine or isolation, can gather with friends or family over the festive break after a trying year of pandemic restrictions. “They’re modest tweaks and modest changes to account for the fact that everybody has had a very difficult year and some people’s stress levels and mental health capacity is already at breaking point and we want to put that against the current risks as we see them,” Berejiklian told reporters on Wednesday. Restrictions for regional NSW will remain unchanged, while up to 10 …