Quarantine scrapped for international arrivals into NSW from November 1

After just a week in his new job as NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet has put an end to the ‘Fortress Australia’ policy in a rapid speed up of the national Covid-19 re-opening plan.

In a press conference overlooking the Harbour Bridge – the symbol of Australia recognised across the globe – Mr Perrottet announced the end of quarantine for international arrivals and declared: ‘We are opening Sydney and New South Wales to the world.’

From November 1 – after NSW reaches the 80 per cent vaccination threshold – any fully jabbed traveller flying into Sydney will no longer be bundled into a bus and detained in a hotel guarded by armed police for two weeks.

Instead foreign tourists and returning citizens alike will be free to enjoy the Harbour City – and regional NSW – as soon as they land (although it remains to be seen when the Federal Government will allow foreigners to enter).

For the 40,000 Australians stranded overseas due to arrival caps and astronomical flight prices, the move is long overdue.

And for the 7.6million Aussies born overseas, it brings hope that a reunion with loved ones after 20 months of forced separation is within sight.

In an interview with Daily Mail Australia just days before he took over from Gladys Berejiklian, Mr Perrottet said he wanted NSW to show the rest of the nation how to live with Covid and ‘lead the way on international travel’.

He hammered that message home on Friday by warning the more cautious states they would miss out on billions of dollars in tourism revenue if they didn’t follow suit and open up. 

‘The fact that we will be the only city and state open to the world is going to be boomtime New South Wales,’ he said. 

NSW will not enforce any quarantine at all on vaccinated arrivals from November 1. Pictured: Sydney Airport in December 

But the unilateral move could have the opposite effect and force states with lower vaccination rates and cautious leaders such as Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania to retreat further behind their border walls in an effort to keep out Covid.

WA Premier Mark McGowan – who says banning international travel has benefitted his state’s economy because residents are forced to spend at home – has suggested he may not remove his state border until Easter.

And Mr Perrottet’s move to scrap quarantine is unlikely to change his mind – especially with Covid case numbers predicted to increase after NSW’s lockdown ended on Monday.

Mr Perrottet admitted as much on Friday when he said residents will be going to ‘Bali before Broome’.

So his shock announcement does the right thing by stranded Aussies who have a right to enter their own country – but also ensures they will be returning to a divided nation.

NSW opens to the WORLD in just two weeks as hotel quarantine is scrapped, limits are lifted on weddings and funerals from MONDAY, community sport returns and pubs & restaurants return to normal 

By Michael Pickering 

Hotel quarantine will be scrapped in NSW and new freedoms will be restored next week as the state prepares to open up to the world on November 1.

NSW is the first state in the country to announce it will open to travellers from overseas and scrap quarantine rules for the fully-vaccinated. 

‘Sydney (and) NSW is open for business,’ Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Friday.

‘We want people back… Hotel quarantine is a thing of the past. We are opening Sydney and NSW to the world – and that date will come on November 1.

‘We will work closely with the Commonwealth to ensure protections are in place so we keep people safe but re-join the world. This is a significant day for our state.’  

Mr Perrottet declared Sydney is Australia’s ‘truly only global city’ as NSW re-opens to the world while Victoria and Queensland remain shut.

He pointed to the Harbour Bridge as he delivered the stunning dig on Friday while announcing changes to Covid-19 restrictions and hotel quarantine.

‘The alternative is to stay closed from the world, we’re not doing that. Sydney is Australia’s truly only global city. When people think of Australia, they think of this,’ he said as he pointed to the landmark.

‘Hotel quarantine is a thing of the past. We are opening Sydney and New South Wales to the world, and that date will come in on November 1st,’ NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Friday

NSW Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said fully vaccinated people would be able to return to Australia without any form of quarantine.  

‘That is not hotel quarantine, that is not home quarantine, you will be able to return home. If you are a person from another country who wants to visit or work in Australia, and you are fully vaccinated, you will be able to come to Australia and not have to quarantine,’ Mr Ayres said.  

Unvaccinated people will still be required to hotel quarantine. 

‘People coming into NSW, if they are transiting on to another state, they’ll have to abide by restrictions in that state so if that state requires quarantining people coming from NSW, they will still have to abide by that,’ Mr Ayres said. 

‘This will create a chance for people to come to NSW through Sydney and will also present a huge opportunity for Australians who haven’t been able to access flights because of the caps that we put in place to protect our local health systems.’

Mr Ayres said the NSW would not discriminate on who the state allowed in based on nationality.

‘There is no delineation between Australian citizens and other citizens of countries around the world.

‘The focal point here is a delineation between vaccination status so vaccinated and unvaccinated.’  

But he flagged the Federal Government will let people from some countries in before others because it will be quicker to set up systems to test the vaccination status of arrivals from certain countries. 

There were suggestions the Federal government was unaware the NSW announcement would apply to international travellers as well and that Prime Minister Scott Morrison had been blindsided by the news. 

The national re-opening plan agreed by all states and territories in August states that once 80 per cent of over 16s are vaccinated then there will be a ‘gradual opening of inward and outward travel with safe countries’. 

Mr Morrison is yet to comment on the changes announced by NSW. 

Meanwhile, Mr Perrottet said from Monday house visitation limits will double from 10 to 20 and outdoor gatherings from 30 to 50. 

‘Standing up in pubs will be back. There will be no limits on weddings and funerals,’ he said.  

Major recreation facilities will be allowed to host 5,000 spectators while entertainment facilities can return to 75 per cent capacity.

Weddings and funerals will no longer have a cap on the number of guests.

NSW is quickly closing in on its 80 per cent of adults double vaccinated target as the state reports 399 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday

The 20-person cap on bookings at restaurants and other hospitality venues will also be scrapped from November 1. 

‘We have only been able to do this because of the significant effort of the people across New South Wales have made in getting us to this point,’ Mr Perrottet said. 

NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole confirmed the decision to delay travel to the regions until November 1 had been taken because of the risk to communities where vaccination rates lag behind the cities.

Delaying regional travel was necessary to protect communities from a virus outbreak because only 36 per cent of regional local government areas have populations where 80 per cent are double vaccinated.

‘We have to make sure that there is a balance between protecting communities and opening up,’ Mr Toole said.

Some 77.4 per cent of adults have now received two doses of the vaccine with 80 per cent expected to be double-jabbed by Saturday

Extra support for businesses in regional NSW affected by the delay in opening up the rest of the state would be provided, Mr Perrottet said.

‘The Job Centre payment which we are tapering off – we will extend that for regional New South Wales at 30 per cent of payroll until November 1,’ he said.  

Some 77.4 per cent of adults have now received two doses of the vaccine with 80 per cent expected to be double-jabbed by Saturday.  

Earlier Mr Toole said the decision to delay regional travel was ‘frustrating’. 

‘I know it’s a very difficult time because I know that people are wanting to pack their bags,’ he told 2GB on Friday morning.

‘They’re wanting to go to regional NSW, they want to go on a holiday, they want to go and catch up with family and their loved ones.’ 

Regional travel, which was expected to restart once the milestone was hit, has now been delayed until November 1

‘I know it’s not an easy decision that’s been made. We have a responsibility here to make sure we keep our regional community safe.’    

The eased restrictions will come after NSW quietly launched the vaccine passport overnight.

For those who have received both jabs and have the updated Service NSW app on their phones, their vaccine status will pop up when they check into a venue using the standard QR code process.

Sydneysiders earlier had to scroll through their Medicare app or carry a paper certificate to prove to staff they’d been jabbed but now a green tick will appear whenever they sign into a business.

NSW is quickly closing in on its 80 per cent of adults double vaccinated target as the state reports 399 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday

For those wanting to take advantage of the new ‘VaxPass’ they will need to ensure their MyGov account account has been linked to Medicare.

Then either through the online MyGov site or the Express Plus Medicare app users are instructed to click ‘Proof of vaccinations’ and then ‘View history’.

They will then be given the option to choose their Covid vaccine digital certificate and link this with the Service NSW app.

Customer Service minister Victor Dominello tweeted a photo of his vaccine passport while checking into a cafe on Friday morning.

The system had earlier attracted criticism for not being ready when Sydney was finally freed from its gruelling four-month lockdown on Monday.

With the launch overnight, the vaccine passport was up and running three days earlier than Mr Dominello had planned, making it a whole lot easier for pub goers heading out for Friday night drinks.

Several security measures will be in place including a hologram of the NSW Waratah logo to help businesses ensure their customers are complying with the rules. 

Trials of the app had been carried out in clubs and aged care facilities in Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga and Lismore.