SYDNEY, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), the epicenter of the country's current outbreak, unveiled on Thursday a "roadmap to freedom" out of the prolonged lockdown that has been imposed on much of the state as it has battled to contain an escalating outbreak of COVID-19.
Speaking at her daily press conference in the state capital city of Sydney on Thursday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the newfound freedoms would be contingent on 70 percent of people aged 16 and older receiving their two doses of vaccine.
"I cannot stress enough how important it is for people to get vaccinated, if you have not had both doses of the vaccine by the time we hit the 70 percent milestone, you will not be able to take advantage of these freedoms," Berejiklian said.
No date has been given for the roadmap introduction, however, the state's present uptake of vaccines means its vaccine rollout target should be reached by mid-October. The freedoms would begin the Monday following that milestone.
It will mean stay-at-home orders for fully vaccinated adults will be lifted and up to five visitors will be allowed in a home where all adults are vaccinated (not including children aged 12 and under).
There will also be an easing of restrictions at a wide range of venues including shops, hairdressers, restaurants, pubs, stadiums, gyms, theaters and public swimming pools.
People who have been locked in their homes for months on end will finally be able to travel throughout NSW, and caravan parts and camping grounds will reopen.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro also had pleasing news on Thursday, announcing that parts of regional NSW, which have had no new COVID-19 cases for at least 14 days, will emerge from lockdown this Saturday.
"For the areas coming out of lockdown, you are not coming back to a pre-lockdown environment," Barilaro said.
"There will be capacity limits for our hotels, cafes and restaurants, including the four-square meter rule, mask-wearing, social distancing."
The NSW government's uplifting announcements come at a time, however, when the COVID-19 cluster continues to have a stranglehold on Sydney and other regions.
The state reported 1,405 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours up to Wednesday 8:00 p.m. local time. Since the first case of the Delta strain of the virus was discovered on June 16, there have been 32,296 cases in NSW.
Fatality figures have also steadily climbed, with a further five deaths reported on Thursday, bringing the overall number of deaths to 153.
Such alarming statistics means that neighboring states will probably not be enthusiastic about the prospect of people in NSW being on the move.
The state of Queensland to the north of NSW, for instance, has so far avoided the crisis that has occurred just beyond its southern border. On Thursday, Queensland recorded only one new case during the previous 24 hours.
Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk has frequently been at loggerheads with her NSW counterparts about how to reopen their shared border.
Palaszczuk said on Thursday that Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles was talking to Barilaro about the easing of restrictions in regional NSW and she said it was too soon to say whether Queensland would relax its hard border.
Meanwhile, the state of Victoria as another neighbor of NSW also has its reasons not to roll out the welcome mat to NSW any time soon.
In recent days, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has said it had been "totally unfair" how NSW had received hundreds of thousands of vaccines from the national stockpile, seemingly at the expense of other states eager to raise their own rollout numbers.
Victoria has imposed many lockdowns on its residents, particularly those in the state capital city of Melbourne, throughout the past 18 months.
Despite all its strenuous efforts, the state is currently confronting its own battle against the virus.
Victoria recorded 324 new cases, concentrated around Melbourne, in the 24 hours up to Wednesday midnight, bringing its overall total to 2,166 active cases.
Despite the mounting COVID-19 figures, Victoria will lift the lockdown on much of its regional districts from Friday. Melbourne's roadmap to freedom, however, seems far away.
