Australia's borders had closed on March 20th 2020 and remained sealed until December 15th 2021 as a result of the pandemic. For almost two full years Australians have been banned from traveling overseas without a permit and tens of thousands of people have been stranded outside the country, unable to return. Those who got permission to enter during this period were forced to spend thousands of dollars to quarantine and they had to agree to spend minimum two weeks locked in a Covid dedicated hotel room. In the summer, with the increase in infections linked to the Delta variant, there was also a return of the lockdowns, especially in the Melbourne and Sydney greater areas.
The first step towards normality came when Sydney and Melbourne lifted their lockdown restrictions in October. In Melbourne, Australia's second most populous city, the last of six lockdowns ended in October and the total lasting of lockdowns here had totaled 260 days over a span of over a year and a half: the restrictions had lasted almost nine months in total, more than any other city in the world.
The decision to lift the restrictions came after the state of Victoria, where Melbourne is located, passed the 70 percent mark of fully vaccinated people over 16 years of age.
However, the removal of the restrictions is still partial and the gatherings allowed are limited to up to 20 fully vaccinated people inside and up to 50 outside, some schools reopened only for half a day and up to 5 fully vaccinated people can enter beauty salons at a time.
Australia's international border has finally been reopened meaning that the toughest restrictive measures have been lifted for the country's two largest cities airports, Sydney and Melbourne, which will now allow vaccinated Australians to enter and exit without having to quarantine.
However, some Australian states with lower vaccination rates will remain virtually closed to the world because they still have mandatory requirements such as expensive quarantine at the Covid hotels for 14 days.
There are nevertheless requirements for travelers to Australia: prior to departure, travelers must present proof of a completed negative pre-departure molecular test taken within 3 days of flight departure and proof of full vaccination against Covid-19 is also required to enter the country.
Non-quarantine travel from New Zealand to Australia has also resumed and it seems that the resumption of un-quarantined arrivals from New Zealand will be a great boost for tourism and confidence said our minister of tourism in the news.
The vaccination campaign and vaccination rate in Australia are progressing quite well and this is certainly a positive sign.
The Australian government has established that when states reach 80% vaccinations, the borders can reopen, also allowing international arrivals (and this has been the case for Victoria and New South Wales for instance). However, the reopening of the borders is decided autonomously by each individual state, which is why differences are expected.
I have wished for so long to go back home and visit my family back in Italy but, for the time being, I have decided to wait and see what will happen with the Omicron variant and the fourth wave hitting Europe. I can’t afford being stranded abroad and not able to return to my life and job here.
Uncertainty is still up in the air and things may change very quickly unfortunately.
VIEW OF SYDNEY
