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SYDNEY: The western state of Australia began on Tuesday (December 8) allowing travelers from Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) to enter without self-quarantine for the first time in eight months, in the latest sign that the country is returning to some kind of normalcy.
Passengers on a Qantas flight arrived in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, from Sydney to emotional scenes of families reunited after months of separation.
READ: Melbourne welcomes first international flight in five months as COVID-19 curbs ease
The move comes as Australia’s two most populous states have seen few to no new cases in recent weeks, underscoring Australia’s success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million people. all over the world.
“We are so happy,” Tithi Kulkarni told reporters in Perth while hugging her boyfriend Ruchira Jayasena, who had been in Sydney for the past six months.
“Very happy to have you back.”
People entering Western Australia from Victoria and New South Wales will no longer have to observe a hotel quarantine for two weeks, said State Prime Minister Mark McGowan.
Victoria has had no new cases for over a month, while New South Wales has recorded only one local infection in the past four weeks, state government data shows.
The easing of restrictions means that only people arriving from South Australia, which reported 30 new coronavirus cases late last month, will have to self-quarantine upon arrival. Western Australia had already resumed free travel with other states in recent weeks.
READ: The first foreign students arrive in Australia since the closure of COVID-19
McGowan’s hardline stance at the state lines has frustrated federal leaders and residents of the eastern state seeking to return home to see his family.
But McGowan’s approach has proven very popular in the country, where the local economy is roaring and benefiting from high iron ore and wheat prices.
Western Australia accounts for nearly all of Australia’s most valuable export iron ore production and is Australia’s largest wheat exporter.
In another sign of a strong local economy, data last week showed median house prices in Perth growing 2.4 percent in the past 12 months, its biggest annual gain since 2014.
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