Um, Victoria is reportedly set to scrap home and hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated international arrivals from November 1 — now matching NSW’s own quarantine system.
According to ABC reporter Raf Epstein, Victoria is scrapping quarantine requirements for international travellers, provided they are fully vaccinated and return a negative COVID-19 test.
The change is understood by the ABC to apply to returning Aussies and their immediate family (yay!!), and is expected to go into effect on November 1, the same day it’s happening in NSW.
Breaking
Big news
Victoria will scrap quarantine requirements for international arrivals.
(Double dosed and test neg here of course)
Arrivals will not have to quarantine at home or in a hotel
Likely to happen same day it happens in NSW – Nov 1
— Raf Epstein (@Raf_Epstein) October 21, 2021
The scrapping of these travel restrictions may seem like a shock given Melbourne’s drastically high COVID cases — 2,232 cases new cases were reported during Thursday’s press conference, the second highest daily case number in the pandemic — but it makes more sense when you remember the state border ‘loophole’.
NSW recently announced the lifting of arrival caps and quarantine for fully vaccinated international arrivals, which will commence on November 1.
Additionally, fully vaccinated people from NSW can enter Victoria without the 14-day quarantine… which means international travellers could just avoid Victoria’s quarantine rules by touching down in NSW, and then crossing the border into Victoria. Which makes Victoria’s hotel quarantine mandates basically useless.
The new rules are yet to be confirmed by the Victorian state government, with the ABC reporting that the changes will officially be announced at tomorrow’s COVID press conference.
