More border rules ease in Australia ahead of Christmas holidays
The Australian state of Queensland opened its borders to all vaccinated domestic travelers on Monday for the first time in nearly five months, as Australians gear up for quarantine-free holiday travel — even as clusters of the Omicron variant grow.
Queensland, the country’s third most populous state, shut its border to New South Wales in July, then later to the state of Victoria, to protect against a Delta outbreak that rocked the country’s east for several months.
Now coronavirus-free, Queensland has topped its goal of having 80% of people over 16 years old fully vaccinated — a prerequisite for relaxing rules.
“We will live with Covid — but on our terms,” state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a tweet.