Businesses in Sydney, Australia's largest city, like hairdressers, gyms, restaurants, cafes and bars, reopened their doors to customers who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on Monday, 11 October, as reported by Reuters and The Hindu.
The vaccination strategy that Sydney had devised for itself was that it would end its lockdown when 70 percent of the population of New South Wales (NSW) older than the age of 16 was fully inoculated.
By 11 October, 73.5 percent of the NSW's population was fully vaccinated and more than 90 percent of the population had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.
New South Wales (NSW) state Premier Dominic Perrottet sees this day as a "day of freedom", Reuters reported.
Perrottet added that Sydney would be "opening up in a measured way and if everyone can look after each other and respect each other, we can get people back into work, we can get businesses open, while at the same time keeping people safe", added The Hindu.
NSW, along with the Australian Capital Territory, which includes the national capital Canberra, were the only two administrative divisions of Australia to reach the 70 percent vaccination threshold.
Canberra is set to reduce COVID restrictions this week on Friday.
States like Victoria and Queensland have been lagging behind with a fully vaccinated population of 59 percent and 52 percent respectively.
(With inputs from Reuters and The Hindu.)
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