Sydney is celebrating ‘Freedom Day’ and reopens as Australia

October 12, 2021: -On Monday, Sydney’s cafes, gyms, and restaurants welcomed back fully vaccinated customers after almost four months of lockdown, as Australia aims to begin to stay with the coronavirus and reopen the country gradually. Some pubs in Sydney, the largest city of Australia, opened at 12 am and friends and families huddled together for a beer, television footage, and social media images showed.

“I see it as a day of freedom; it’s a freedom day,” New South Wales state Premier Dominic Perrottet told reporters in Sydney, the state capital. “We are leading the nation out of this pandemic, but this will be a challenge,” the state capital added.

Perrottet warned that infections would increase after reopening, and virus-free states such as Western Australia and Queensland are watching what living with Covid-19 will look like amid concerns health systems could be overwhelmed.

While NSW’s dual-dose vaccination rate in people over 16 hit 74%, in neighboring Queensland, whose borders remain closed to Sydney-siders, the rate is only 52%. The state government follows an elimination strategy with immediate lockdowns to control any outbreak.

Perrottet is declaring an end to lockdowns in NSW and has strong support for reopening in Sydney. Over 5 million residents endured severe restrictions from mid-June following a highly infectious Delta variant outbreak.

The outbreak has since spread to Melbourne and Canberra, forcing lockdowns in those cities as case numbers dwindle in NSW.

On Monday, New South Wales reported 496 new acquired cases, well down from their peak last month, while Victoria logged 1,612 new infections, the very less in five days.

Under the relaxed rules for NSW, retail stores can open with reduced capacity, while more vaccinated people can gather in homes and attend weddings and funerals.

The state aims to reach an 80% vaccine rate around late October, when more curbs will be relaxed. But the unvaccinated should remain at home until December 1.

“Enjoy the moment, enjoy it with the family and friends,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison wished Sydney residents. “Today is a day, so many have been looking forward to a day when things we take for granted, we will celebrate,” he added.

Australia shut its international borders in March of the previous year, helping keep its coronavirus numbers are low relatively, with 130,000 cases and 1,448 deaths.