Australia’s Sydney is going to boost the tourism field by ending COVID-19 quarantine for international visitors, 9News reports. New South Wales is almost 80% full inoculation levels in the adult population this weekend.
New South Wales demonstrates an impressive rate of vaccination against the coronavirus. This weekend, NSW is expected to reach 80% full vaccination levels in the adult population, while the rest of the country will take at least some weeks to reach that level.
Thus, an improved health situation allows the state to reopen its tourism activity. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison was not immediately available to comment on the NSW plan.
The move to open borders comes as daily infections in New South Wales eased further to 399 from 406 on Thursday, well down from the state’s pandemic high of 1,599 in early September.
Neighbouring Victoria state reported 2,179 new locally acquired cases, the majority in Melbourne, down from a record 2,297 a day earlier.
Australia had stayed largely virus-free for most of this year until a third wave of infections fuelled by the Delta variant spread across its southeast from late June, forcing a months-long lockdown in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.
The country’s overall coronavirus numbers are still relatively low, with some 139,000 cases and 1,506 deaths.
Meantime, Victorian top medical official Martin Foley says the state will stick to the national plan of opening its borders to international travellers after NSW announced it would end hotel quarantine on 1 November.
“Good on New South Wales. I can’t speak for what their thinking is. Victoria is signed up to the national cabinet plan for the reopening of international borders,” Foley said.
