70% of Australians now vaccinated, a step toward reopening

Sydney, Australia, Oct 20 (EFE).- Australia has fully vaccinated 70 percent of its population over 16 against Covid-19, a key milestone in the government’s plan to reopen the country, the Health Minister announced Wednesday.

Greg Hunt, said at a press conference that the figure reached represents a step “at the national level” toward a new phase of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanked his fellow citizens for their efforts in a message posted on social media.

After reaching the mark, the country has begun relaxing restrictions implemented to stop the spread of the virus, although it will prioritize fully vaccinated people over those with one or no doses.

Australia, which recently abandoned its ironclad strategy of confining people after a decrease in Covid-19 cases, is making progress in its vaccination campaign that began months behind other developed countries due to difficulties in transportation and supply, among others.

This new phase will make isolation orders more unlikely.

The country’s different jurisdictions are advancing at different rates: while New South Wales reached 80 percent of the complete vaccination over the weekend, Victoria, confined to Melbourne since August, plans to reach 70 percent Thursday and will stop quarantine the next day.

One of the most delayed is the state of Western Australia, which has been living a normal life for months, and has vaccinated 55 percent of its population.

The next goal set by the national government is to reach 80 percent throughout the country to begin the progressive reopening of its international borders, closed since March 2020.

Australia has accumulated some 150,000 Covid-19 infections, including more than 1,550 deaths, since the start of the pandemic. EFE

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