SYDNEY, Nov 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Australian Victoria state will relax more restrictions, as the state is expected to hit the 90 percent double dose mark by the end of the weekend.
As announced by Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, from 11:59 p.m. local time today, all gathering caps in the state will be lifted. Restaurants, cafes, live music venues will operate at full capacity for vaccinated people.
Masks will remain in high-risk indoor settings, while people who get COVID-19 will only have to isolate for 10 days, instead of 14 days. Those fully vaccinated, who are a close contact of a known case, only need to isolate until they receive a negative test, if the case is not in their household.
The easing of restrictions means, large-scale events, such as the upcoming cricket match, Boxing Day Test, will be able to go ahead with a full crowd of 100,000 vaccinated attendees.
However, Victorian deputy chief health officer, Ben Cowie, warned, some people will die from the COVID-19, in the months ahead, despite the state reaching 90 percent vaccination.
“As we move forward, some people will still need to be admitted to the hospital system, and there will be a loss of life. That is a tragedy.”
The state’s daily case numbers have jumped back over the 1,000 mark, with 1,007 new local infections reported today. Data released today showed the vaccination rate of Victorian residents aged 12 and over reached 88 percent.
At the same time, from this Sunday, fully vaccinated Singaporeans can arrive in Australia without quarantining, as long as they return a negative COVID-19 test.– NNN-XINHUA
