Australian state opens border

Special Desk

The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has decided to reopen its border with neighbouring Victoria after coronavirus cases there fell to zero. It was closed in July.

Victoria, which imposed a tough lockdown after a surge in cases, has reported no new infections since the beginning of November. The state is also going to relax rules on wearing face masks. Australia has recorded about 900 deaths and 28,000 infections in total.

The country has relied on lockdown, widespread testing and aggressive contact tracing to push daily infections nationwide close to zero. Australia shut down its international borders early in the pandemic and directed all arriving travellers to spend two weeks in quarantine at the designated hotels.

The border between Victoria and NSW – the two most populous states – was closed in July as infections soared in Victoria’s state capital, Melbourne. Flights between the city and the NSW capital Sydney – normally one of the world’s busiest routes – were cancelled. NSW authorities have since been in charge of guarding border crossings.

Melbourne saw cases surge to more than 700 a day in July. It has recorded 90% of the country’s Covid-related deaths. Taking drastic steps to stop transmission to other areas, it introduced a “ring of steel” with severe stay-at-home rules and a curfew.

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Hailing the latest figures, Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews said they were “a testament to the character and the conviction and the amazing job that every single Victorian has done this year”.

He announced changes to restrictions, scrapping the rule for masks to be worn outdoors as long as physical distancing can be maintained. Larger public gatherings will also be allowed, as will in-store shopping.

In New South Wales, Premier Gladys Berejiklian welcomed the reopening of the border with Victoria, saying she hoped it would never happen again.