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MELBOURNE: Australia’s state of Victoria eased COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday (Dec. 6) after the country’s pandemic hotspot logged 37 days with no new coronavirus infections, moving toward a “COVID-safe” holiday season.
From midnight on Sunday, up to 100 people will be able to attend public gatherings such as weddings, with density rules of one person for every two remaining square meters, while 50 percent of office workers will be able to return to their workplaces in January. 11, up from 25 percent today, the state prime minister said.
READ: No local COVID-19 cases for weeks, Australia’s New South Wales resumes dancing and religious services
“Today we can take some important steps, not towards normality, but towards a summer without COVID (but) we must all remain vigilant and we must all do our part,” Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said at a press conference.
Masks will remain mandatory indoors and on public transportation and ride-sharing, he said.
READ: Larger Australian states reopen borders as COVID-19 cases ease
READ: Once Australia’s COVID-19 hotspot, Victoria goes 28 days with no new infections
Public health concerns subsided after two travelers who returned from Germany, bypassing the Sydney quarantine to travel directly to Melbourne, tested negative for COVID-19.
All passengers on Saturday afternoon’s domestic flight between the two cities and some of the airport staff must remain in quarantine until the results of a second test arrive on Monday, a health official said.
Australia recorded seven new cases overnight, all returning travelers.
The country has practically eliminated the coronavirus through strict quarantine measures, particularly in Victoria, the second most populous state, which in early August recorded up to 700 daily infections.
This comes as a Reuters tally of global infections surpassed 65.58 million people, while more than 1.5 million people have died and the United States continues to set single-day records for new infections.
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