Sydney, Oct 20 (BUS): Travel restrictions between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s largest city, were eased on Wednesday as Victoria opened its borders to fully vaccinated residents of New South Wales amid a rapid rise in vaccination levels.
With cases declining in New South Wales, including Sydney, residents will be allowed to enter Victoria without quarantine for the first time in more than three months. However, travelers from Melbourne who wish to enter Sydney must undergo a two-week home quarantine.
Daily infections in Victoria rose to 1,841 on Wednesday, compared to 1,749 the day before. A total of 283 cases have been reported in NSW, down significantly from the epidemic’s high level in September, according to Reuters.
The easing in border rules comes before Victoria lifted the lockdown in Melbourne, the state capital, on Friday as double-dose vaccination rates in people over 16 approached 70%. Further restrictions will be eased when rates exceed 80% and 90%.
By Friday, Melbourne’s 5 million residents had experienced six lockdowns totaling 262 cumulative days since March 2020. Australian media say this is the longest in the world, surpassing the 234-day lockdown in Buenos Aires.
Australia had enjoyed a COVID-free life for most of this year until the start of the Delta outbreak in Sydney in June, which quickly spread to neighboring Victoria. Other states are COVID-free or have very few cases.
Sydney and Canberra emerged from their strict months-long stay-at-home restrictions last week after they raced through their vaccination goals.
Even with the outbreak in the Delta region, Australia’s COVID-19 numbers are much lower than many developed nations, with around 149,000 cases and 1,577 deaths.
HF