More border rules ease in Australia ahead of Christmas holidays
Gulf Times
Travellers and flight crew members arrive at the international terminal at Sydney Airport, as countries react to the new coronavirus Omicron variant amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, in Sydney, Australia.
Coronavirus-free Queensland state opened its domestic borders to all vaccinated people on Monday for the first time in nearly five months, as Australians gear up for quarantine-free travel across most of the country during the busy Christmas period.
Hundreds of cars queued up at the state's southern border with New South Wales well before the rules were set to relax at 1 am local time (1400 GMT, Sunday), television footage showed.
Queensland, Australia's third most populous state, shut its border to New South Wales in July and then later to people coming from Victoria to protect against a Delta outbreak that rocked the country's east for several months.
"We will live with Covid - but on our terms," state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a tweet as the state topped its goal of having 80% of people over 16 fully vaccinated - a prerequisite for relaxing rules.
