Plans laid out for return of interstate travel
SYDNEY: Fully vaccinated people in New South Wales have begun enjoying more freedoms as restrictions are wound back and the prospect of travelling interstate before Christmas is on the cards.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said he had reached out to Victorian counterpart Dan Andrews about easing border rules.
Queensland has laid out a plan to resume interstate travel by the end of next month when vaccination rates in the Sunshine State improve — albeit with strict conditions.
Fully vaccinated people in NSW will be able to travel to Queensland without quarantining just in time for Christmas — from December 17, if they test negative to Covid19.
Daily coronavirus infections in NSW dipped to 265 in the 24hours until 8pm on Sunday, but concern is growing over an escalating outbreak in the Hunter New England region.
Five people died including an unvaccinated woman in her 30s. The premier welcomed the lower case numbers and the easing of restrictions as more than 148,000 pupils in kindergarten, year one and 12 returned to school.
However, he cautioned there would inevitably be a resurgence of cases and more hospitalisations as restrictions eased.
‘‘This is not over. There’s a long journey to go.’’
More than 80% of people over 16 are fully vaccinated, which triggered a secondstage easing of restrictions yesterday.
Victoria is halving Covid19 isolation for most fully vaccinated primary close contacts, with tens of thousands remaining in quarantine as Melbourne prepares to reopen.
As the state reported a further 1903 new local cases and seven deaths, the Victorian government confirmed it would add shorter isolation to its list of rule tweaks when the state hits its 70% doubledose vaccination target.
From 11.59pm on Thursday, isolation orders for fully vaccinated, nonhousehold primary close contacts such as work colleagues and friends will be slashed from 14 days to seven.
They will need to return negative test results on their first and sixth day of quarantine to be free to leave their home.
Under the changes, from Friday, restrictions on leaving home and the city’s nightly curfew will be dumped. — AAP