SYDNEY • Australia's two biggest states reunited in emotional scenes yesterday as the border - shut for only the second time in 101 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic - reopened and the first flights since July landed in Sydney from Melbourne.
Friends, family and a musical duo in drag welcomed passengers as they disembarked Qantas flight QF401 at 7.20am local time, the first of 26 flights scheduled between the two states yesterday.
"I can come and visit my father when I need to without having to worry about when I can get home," one passenger said.
The border between New South Wales and Victoria states closed in July due to an outbreak of the coronavirus around Melbourne - Australia's second-largest city and Victoria's capital. It was the first such border closure since 1919, when Australia was battling the Spanish flu.
The outbreak in Victoria, which totalled more than 20,000 cases, was contained only after a stringent lockdown lasting more than 100 days.
But with Victoria going more than three weeks without detecting any Covid-19 infections, the authorities made the decision to reopen the border, much to the relief of separated families and the tourism and aviation sectors.
"We never want to be in a position again when we have to shut down our borders," New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.
The Sydney-to-Melbourne air route is the world's second-busiest, and Australian lawmakers are keen to revive domestic travel and tourism in a bid to revive the ailing economy.
Australia also hopes to restart international travel, with flights to New Zealand in the works.
While New Zealand citizens can now travel to Victoria without having to go through quarantine, a reciprocal agreement is still some way off. New Zealand says visitors from Australia will remain barred until the entire country has gone at least 28 days without a single Covid-19 case.
Australia's economy shrank 7 per cent in the three months that ended in June, the most since records began in 1959, while the unemployment rate hit a 22-year high of 7.5 per cent in July.
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2
Number of times the border between New South Wales and Victoria has been shut in 101 years.
28
Number of days the whole of Australia must go without a Covid-19 case before New Zealand will open its borders to it
Besides reopening its border with Victoria, New South Wales said that up to 500 people can now gather at outdoor religious gatherings.
And on Sunday, Victoria announced the easing of various curbs. "Three months ago, Victoria had 4,293 active cases. Today, we have one," state Premier Daniel Andrews said.
Victoria accounts for about 73 per cent of Australia's total Covid-19 cases of just over 27,800 and 90 per cent of its 907 deaths.
REUTERS, XINHUA
