Australia Set for Different Xmas in 2020 Santa may have slipped down the chimney to deliver gifts as usual in 2020, but for many Australians Christmas is likely to have a very different feel. Family gatherings across greater Sydney will be restricted for Christmas due to COVID-19, with the harshest rules reserved for the northern beaches area, where a virus cluster on December 24 jumped to 104 cases. Thousands of others will be forced to spend Christmas in hotel quarantine or home isolating across the country. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Scott Morrison used his Christmas address on Thursday to argue Australia’s blessings outweighed its sorrows.