The mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine will then no longer apply to fully vaccinated travelers, regional premier Dominic Perrottet surprisingly announced on Friday. “Sydney and New South Wales will be open again to double-vaccinated people around the world,” he said. All that is needed is a vaccination certificate and a negative PCR test. In New South Wales, more than 80 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated.
However, the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison specified a few hours later that the new rules would initially only apply to Australian citizens and people residing in Australia. Hopes for an imminent Australian vacation for tourists from all over the world, he initially dashed.
“We are not currently opening to anyone who wants to come to Australia, I would like to make that very clear. We will be moving this forward gradually and carefully, ”said Morrison. “The federal government decides when the border will be opened and closed at international level.”
The authorities closed the country’s borders a year and a half ago, largely isolating Australia from the rest of the world. They pursued a “zero covid strategy”, which worked well until the delta variant spread. For a long time, citizens enjoyed many freedoms that seemed unthinkable in other countries.
The downside: Many Australians have not been able to travel home and visit relatives and friends since the pandemic began because the costs for flights and quarantine were extremely high and permits were difficult to come by. Conversely, the approximately 25 million inhabitants of Australia are largely stuck in the country.