Summer to herald the end of coronavirus lockdown calamity

Life in the two most populous states appears set to return to normal after NSW said it would lift restrictions by December.

Milla, left, Lenna, Deanne and Aleks Karadjov enjoy the reopening of Blacktown Auquatic Centre in western Sydney on Monday. Picture: Jane Dempster.

Life in Australia’s two most populous states appears set to return to normal by summer after NSW said it would lift health restrictions – even with more than 600,000 adults unvaccinated – by the start of December.

Restaurants, bars, shops and hairdressers will open for those fully vaccinated against Covid-19 within two weeks, before workers can return to offices and indoor mask mandates are lifted about seven weeks later.

Victoria is also on track to drop health restrictions, allowing restaurants and shops to begin trading again from October 11. But Premier Daniel Andrews says those who have not been vaccinated will have to wait until after Christmas before they have equal freedoms.

Even Queensland, where Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has refused to commit to reopening state borders, could welcome visitors by Christmas, with officials indicating restrictions would lift once health rules in NSW and Victoria mirrored their own.

However, Western Australia appears isolated after Qantas said it would cancel most of its flights from the state to Melbourne and Sydney, and redirect its non-stop London flight to Darwin.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: Adam Yip

Although Scott Morrison has yet to indicate when international borders will reopen, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday she hoped overseas travel would be back by December 1, once most restrictions were eased.

“At 80 per cent, you will be able to go anywhere freely in NSW, you will be able to stand up and have a drink at a pub, you will be able to obviously consider international travel,” she said.

“The third stage of reopening will happen on 1 December. That is at least four or five weeks after we hit the 80 per cent double dose. We envisage we will have at least 90 per cent of our adult population vaccinated by then.”

Under the NSW road map, ­retail and hospitality will reopen when the state hits 70 per cent vaccination coverage on October 11. Residents of Greater Sydney will be able to travel to the regions, take part in community sport and enjoy a drink standing up at a bar by the end of October when vaccination rates hit 80 per cent but workers will not return to offices until December 1, when the state reaches 90 per cent vaccination.

On that date, masks will not be required indoors at offices, indoor pools and nightclubs can reopen and even unvaccinated residents will be able to enjoy freedoms.

But Mr Andrews on Monday said unvaccinated residents in his state would not get equal freedoms by Christmas, adding it would reduce incentives to get inoculated. “I will not say to people, just wait five weeks and you will have all the freedoms. No, that is not a guarantee at all here,” he said. “I would not give anyone a reason to wait five or six weeks.”

The latest vaccination figures, released on Monday, show 76 per cent of adults across the country have had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Just under 52 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Almost 86 per cent of adults in NSW have had one dose, while 60 per cent have had both.

Ms Berejiklian denied that ­allowing the unvaccinated the same freedoms by waiting another five or six weeks would prove a disincentive. “I think today is a very disappointing day for those who aren’t vaccinated,” she said. “I think they assumed once we hit 80 per cent double dose, they will have certain freedoms.”

Business groups welcomed the plan to unlock NSW, saying it gave people the certainty they needed to get on with their lives.

“NSW is again leading the pack with a plan that gives businesses and the community confidence by charting a path to safely reopen the state,” Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.

“For businesses, it means they can plan for Christmas, start ­ordering supplies and roster on staff for more hours. If NSW can safely reopen as we meet our vaccine targets, there is no reason other states can’t do the same.”

Health Minister Greg Hunt said he welcomed the Berejiklian government’s announcement.

“It’s heartening to see other states and territories moving closer to 70 and 80 per cent as Australians continue to come forward and get vaccinated,” he said.

The NSW road map timetable came as the state recorded 787 new local cases of Covid-19, a dramatic drop in daily case numbers.

Ms Berejiklian said hospitalisation and ICU admission rates had been lower than modelling predicted but warned that coronavirus cases would “go through the roof” once the state reopened at 70 per cent vaccination coverage.

“But what will protect us is the fact that so many people have ­received at least the first dose of the vaccine and those people will have that extra layer of protection against ending up in hospital or worse,” she said.

The NSW government is also considering changes to international arrival caps, so more people can return home for Christmas.

That timetable came as ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr released the territory’s road map for reopening, with rules set to ease from Friday and lockdown to end on October 15. Two households visitors will be allowed from this Friday, while outdoor boot camps would recommence.

Lockdown would be lifted as planned in mid-October, Mr Barr said, which would bring much of the ACT economy out of hibernation.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: LYDIA LYNCH