In what is perhaps the biggest sign things are returning to ‘normal’, the NSW government is officially removing arrivals caps and 14-day hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated people from November 1. Tell your overseas friends and fam they can come home. I might have a little cry.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced the changes this morning, as the state rapidly heads towards hitting the 80% double dose rate.
“We have reached this vaccination milestone quicker than anyone thought we could, and that is a testament to the hard work of people across the state turning out to be vaccinated,” he said.
“Welcoming back fully vaccinated travellers will not only mean families and friends can be home in time for Christmas, it will also give our economy a major boost.”
Perrottet added that further testing requirements for arrivals will be announced in the coming days, so keep an eye out for that one – but worth noting that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved the first self-testing kits just yesterday.
For any fully vaccinated people currently in hotel quarantine, they’ll be released on November 1, regardless of whether they’ve completed their 14 days.
To qualify, they must be double jabbed with a TGA-approved vaccine. Those with provisional approval include AstraZeneca (18+), Pfizer (12+) and Moderna (12+).
However, overseas arrivals who are not fully vaccinated will be capped at 210 people per week, and will still have to undergo 14 days hotel quarantine.
It comes as Perrottet announced a few new freedoms / restrictions for NSW.
The big one is that regional travel is off the cards until November, in order to allow for the regions to increase their vaccination rates. To ease the hit taken by regional businesses, the current stage JobSaver program has been for those affected has been extended until November 1.
As for the other stuff, from Nov 1:
- Community sport will resume
- Bookings for hospitality venues will no longer be capped
- Masks will no longer be required in offices
- And vertical consumption will be permitted both indoors and outdoors
Back! To! Normal!
