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The city of Sydney, the largest and most populous in Australia, reopens its economy after 106 days of closure. Retailers, supermarkets, restaurants, bars and gyms saw the light again. And fully vaccinated city dwellers were able to enjoy the freedoms they had lost due to restrictions caused by the triggered contagions of the Delta variant of Covid-19.
After more than a hundred days of restrictions, Sydneyns experienced something of the old normal again.
Up to 10 people who meet the complete vaccination schedule can meet in the same home. The fully vaccinated can also visit relatives, go to the grocery store, or attend funerals.
This Monday, October 11, people got up early to the hairdressers that returned to receive customers after 106 days of closure, the clothing stores, some of them with promotions, reopened their premises to the public with a capacity limit.
Sydney’s oldest department store, David Jones, opened its doors an hour earlier to customers lining up outside. “I was feeling very excited, I got up very early. I was a little worried that there might be lines because I heard there were a lot of people outside the hair salons and places like that, but it’s still not too crowded,” said Ffranses Ingram.
The gyms, favored by the general reopening, also welcomed their customers from the early hours. “I hope we can stay open,” said Kyl Raggio, the owner of one of these training centers.
Another union that was enabled since Monday was that of restaurants, which serve outdoors with prior reservations. The cafes and traditional pubs also reopened. This is the case of the Fortune of War pub, the oldest in Sydney with more than two centuries of existence, which welcomed its customers an hour earlier than usual.
The Prime Minister of the State of New South Wales, Dominic Perrottet, celebrated the arrival of the beginning of the end of the restrictions.
“It is here, the day we have waited for so long. We are now well on our way to dual dose vaccination coverage of 80% and above. We have earned it, enjoy it. Remember to register, show your vaccination status, be patient, and be good to others.
Morning NSW. It’s here – the day we’ve waited so long for. We’re now well on our way to double-dose vaccination coverage of 80% and beyond. We’ve earned it, so enjoy it. Remember to check in, show your vaccination status, be patient and be good to each other. pic.twitter.com/HrznEKB30y
– Dom Perrottet (@Dom_Perrottet) October 10, 2021
The vaccinated population is the first to benefit from the reopening of the economy
The 70% Of the 5.3 million inhabitants of Australia’s largest city, it has already been vaccinated and now they are the ones who receive the benefits of the reopening. For those who only have one dose or have not yet been vaccinated, they will have to wait to resume their activities freely.
The state of New South Wales expects by December 1 to have 90% of people vaccinated and to reopen without restrictions.
Aiming to be virus-free, Australia managed to significantly reduce coronavirus infections for most of the pandemic with border closures, sectored quarantines in major cities, testing and case tracing, but the contagious Delta variant led to prolonged closures. in the big cities of Melbourne and Sydney.
The state of New South Wales reported 496 new locally acquired cases on Monday, well below its September peak, while Victoria recorded 1,612 new infections, the lowest in five days.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Australia, with more than 25 million inhabitants, has confirmed 129,567 cases of covid-19, the death toll from the disease amounts to 1,448.
According to the same source, 12,998,286 are fully vaccinated in the country, corresponding to 51.25% of the population.
Australia plans to open international borders in November once it reaches 80% of vaccinated people.
With EFE, AFP and Reuters
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