The good news is that Sydneysiders with an urge to visit the Big Spud can now do so, because Tasmania is opening up to NSW next Friday, November 6. The bad news is that the poo machine is still closed for the time being.
It’ll be the first time people from NSW have been able to visit the island state since March, when Tasmania became to the first state to seal its borders. Remember when that seemed wild and apocalyptic?
“What we want to see in a jurisdiction that we open up to is less than five cases of unknown transmission in the last 28 days,” Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein told reporters.
“Over the last 28 days NSW has had six… in a population of nearly 8 million people. So they are on top of this, but we want to ensure that as we move closer to [next] Friday there are no further major outbreaks.
“At this stage they look on balance very safe in terms of their population size and the relative risk to Tasmania.”
Reopening in this case means people can more or less move freely, with no 14-day quarantine period required like in other “open” states and territories such as the NT.
The news follows Tasmania reopening to Queensland, the ACT, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and *whispers* New Zealand as of Monday, October 26.
Surprisingly, the Spirit of Tasmania ship has already been bouncing between Melbourne and Devonport, but only to pick up cars travelling from interstate rather than Melburnians.
People from NSW (and other low-risk areas) will still have to whack their details into Tas e-Travel, which similar to scanning a QR code at the pub.
Gutwein added that he’s got his eye on a December 1 reopening for Victoria, provided things keep going smoothly from here on out.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been publicly badgering other states – Queensland in particular – to reopen their borders.
However on Tuesday, she reiterated that NSW would hold off from reopening its border with Victoria, despite the state finally getting its second wave under control after a monumental effort from the community.
So, if you fancy a chilly summer full of mechanical clocas, bougie cheese and a monumental spud, pencil Tassie into your travel diary.
