Sydney to lift Covid-19 quarantine for international travelers

From November 1, fully vaccinated international travelers will no longer need to quarantine in Sydney, as announced by New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet on Friday, October 15, signaling the full reopening of international travel after a 19-month hiatus.

In March 2020, Australia closed its borders to international travelers due to the pandemic, permitting only citizens and permanent residents to enter, who were then required to undergo a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine at their own cost.

"We want to welcome people back, we are leading the nation out of the pandemic... we are reopening Sydney and New South Wales to the world," Perrottet told reporters in Sydney, the state capital.

The federal government's reopening roadmap revealed in July outlined plans to remove caps on vaccinated Australians returning and gradually reopen international travel with select countries once vaccination rates hit 80%.

The office of Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not yet responded to inquiries regarding New South Wales' reopening plan.

New South Wales is set to reach 80% vaccination coverage among adults this weekend, while other regions of the country are expected to take several more weeks to reach that milestone.

The decision to reopen the borders comes as daily Covid-19 cases in New South Wales have dropped to 399, down from 406 on October 14, a significant decrease from the state's peak of 1,599 infections in early September.

Neighboring Victoria state reported 2,179 new locally acquired cases, primarily in Melbourne, a slight decline from the record 2,297 reported the previous day.

Australia remained largely free from the virus for most of this year until a third wave of infections, driven by the Delta variant, spread across the southeast from late June, triggering a months-long lockdown in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra.

The nation's overall Covid-19 statistics remain relatively low, with approximately 139,000 reported cases and 1,506 deaths.