Australia plans to deconfine Sydney in October, when 70% of the population will be vaccinated

The authorities of Australia plan to end the lockdown of Sydney, the most populous city in the oceanic country, in mid-October, when it is expected to achieve vaccination against the coronavirus than 70 percent of the population of the state of New South Wales, according to a roadmap announced Thursday.

Once this goal is reached, the authorities will allow the reopening of bars, restaurants and gyms in the city of more than 5.3 million inhabitants, which has been confined since June 26, along with other areas of New South Wales.

The lack of definition – which will be subject to restriction and social distancing measures, as well as the use of face masks – will take effect on the Monday following the fulfillment of the goal of 70 percent of the vaccinated population in New south Wales.

The New South Wales roadmap is in line with a plan agreed between the federal and regional governments that also points to the progressive reopening of the borders, which closed in March 2020, once 80 percent of the target population is fully vaccinated.

Currently Almost 40 percent of the adult population of the more than 25 million inhabitants of the country has received the complete schedule of the vaccine against covid-19 in Australia, where the immunization campaign against covid-19 is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The announcement of the roadmap for deconfinement, which will also emulate the neighboring state of Victoria, comes amid warnings from professionals of the impact that the health system will suffer once the restrictions are lifted and the refusal of some regions to reopen its internal borders.

New south Wales, which reported 1,405 local infections and 5 deaths today, and accumulates almost half of the more than 66,300 infections that have been registered in Australia since the beginning of the pandemic, expects to reach the peak of cases in October.

Victoria, which until recently maintained the zero-infection strategy, reported 317 patients on Thursday, while the Australian Capital Territory, which includes Canberra, reported 15 local cases and Queensland one.

Australia accumulates 1,065 deaths, of which more than 800 are linked to the outbreak detected in Melbourne in 2020 and about 200 to that of Sydney.