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Updated October 17th, 2021 at 18:08 IST

Australia: Melbourne set to end world’s longest COVID lockdown, targets 80% double dose

Melbourne, Australia, which has spent the most time under COVID-19 lockdowns than any other city in the world, is set to lift its stay-at-home orders this week.

Reported by: Aparna Shandilya
Australia
Image: AP | Image:self
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Melbourne, Australia, which has undergone more time under COVID lockdowns than any other city in the world, is set to lift its stay-at-home orders this week. On Sunday, October 17, Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, announced the relaxation of curbs. Officials anticipate that the state's double-vaccination rate will reach 70% this week. "Today is a great day. Today is a day when Victorians can be proud of what they have achieved," Andrews said in a press release.

He also posted the announcement with a Press release on Twitter, the caption read, "The Chief Health Officer today determined that at 11.59 pm on Thursday 21 October, Victoria will move forward in opening up. Victorians can get together with family at home, hospo can reopen inside and out across the state, and students are back to class earlier than planned."

By the time the curbs are lifted, the five-million-person city will have been subjected to six lockdowns totalling 262 days since March 2020. According to Australian and other media, this is the world's longest lockdown, surpassing Buenos Aires' 234-day lockdown. As the Delta variant has proven too transmissible to suppress, Australia, once a champion of a Zero-COVID pandemic management strategy, has been moving toward living with the virus through extensive vaccinations.

In a subsequent tweet, Daniel Andrews announced, "The next stop on the roadmap is 80% double dose, and at the moment we think this will happen in the first week of November. But to get there we need to keep getting vaccinated. To book a vaccination appointment head to."

More than 65% of people over the age of 16 in Victoria have received a second dose of a vaccine, and 89% have received at least one dose. Andrews stated that with the lifting of the stay-at-home order, people will be permitted to have up to ten visitors per day at their homes.

Quarantine-free travel from NZ's South Island to resume on Wednesday

Outside gatherings will be limited to 15 people. Most outdoor venues will be able to accommodate up to 50 people, subject to density restrictions, while indoor venues, such as cafes and restaurants, will be able to accommodate up to 20 people, also subject to density restrictions. The premier stated that there will be no travel restrictions within metropolitan Melbourne, but residents will not be able to travel outside the city without permission. Health officials in Australia also announced on Sunday that quarantine-free travel from New Zealand's South Island, where there is no outbreak, will resume on Wednesday. The government is also in talks with Singapore about resuming fully vaccinated travel between the two countries. Despite a recent surge in COVID cases, Australia's coronavirus numbers are low in comparison to many other developed countries, with just over 143,000 cases and 1,530 deaths.

(With inputs from agencies)

Image: AP

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Published October 17th, 2021 at 18:08 IST

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