The Australian city of Melbourne will emerge from the containment put in place to fight the coronavirus at the end of October, if the target of 70% of the vaccinated adult population is reached, according to a "
road map
" published on Sunday.
Read also Covid-19: more than 200 arrests in Melbourne during an anti-containment rally
About five million Melbourne residents have been ordered to stay at home since August 5. This is the sixth containment since the start of the pandemic. Authorities in the state of Victoria, which includes Melbourne, have said those orders will be lifted when 70% of those over 16 are fully immunized, a target they expect to achieve around October 26.
"
The lockdown will end,
" said Dan Andrews, Premier of the State of Victoria, adding that the grounds-for-exit limitation and curfew will no longer be in effect but a series of restrictions will still be in place.
Restaurants and pubs will be allowed to reopen, but only with a maximum of 50 fully vaccinated people sitting outside, while the ban on home visits will remain in place.
Vaccination goal
Once the vaccination rate reaches 80% - which is scheduled for around November 5 - fully vaccinated Melbourne residents will enjoy more freedoms, including giving up the mask outdoors, receiving up to 10 visitors home and work in the office. Dan Andrews said the healthcare system would likely be under "
intense pressure
" as a result of these changes, but the phased reopening would help Melbourne "
normalize
" its response to the coronavirus.
“
We cannot eradicate this virus permanently or permanently.
The confinements have saved time to reach 70 and 80% vaccination,
”he said.
The city, which spent nearly four months confined last year, has recorded hundreds of new cases of Covid-19 every day despite the application of strict containment rules.
Read alsoWhy the agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia raises fears of a risk of nuclear proliferation
After applying '
zero Covid
'
strategies
for much of the pandemic, Australia has struggled to contain the more infectious Delta variant. State leaders are increasingly moving towards easing restrictions once immunization coverage increases.