Melbourne Out Of 262-day Lockdown, PM Scott Morisson: Australia Ready To Take Off

Ilustrasi Melbourne, Australia. (Wikimedia Commons/Lenny K Photography)

JAKARTA - Melbourne residents flocked to the city's pubs, restaurants, and hair salons in the early hours of Friday, after the world's most locked city emerged from the latest spate of restrictions designed to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Australia's second-largest city has so far been under 262 days of lockdown, or nearly nine months, during six separate periods of lockdown since March 2020, which is the longest cumulative lockdown of any city in the world.

This figure is still longer than the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, which last year went into lockdown for 234 consecutive days.

In Melbourne, people were seen cheering and clapping from their balconies, while cars honked continuously at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, when lockdown restrictions ended.

Many venues, including food outlets and even barbershops, are open at unusual hours for the event.

Josh Mihan, the owner of Melbourne's 'The Bearded Man' barbershop, told Reuters he was close to ordering for next month and he was encouraging customers to make appointments for Christmas.

"We all love getting our hair cut and being on the floor is a nice feeling, being around people," he said.

"I've been urging our customer base, make sure you've ordered your Christmas cut," he continued.

Similar scenes of joy were seen in the country's largest city, Sydney, nearly two weeks ago, when authorities began easing restrictions as COVID-19 vaccination rates rose.

More than 70 percent of adults in Australia are now fully vaccinated and many residents plan to fly overseas as international border restrictions begin to be eased next November.

Starting November 1, fully vaccinated international travelers arriving in Sydney and Melbourne will no longer need to be quarantined.

"It's a beautiful day, Australia is ready to take off," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said shortly after Qantas' announcement.

"The quarantine-free travel bubble between Australia and Singapore could operate from next month," Morrison said if a deal was reached as expected.

With the Delta variant starting to hit in late June, the number of cases of COVID-19 infection in Australia is lower than many comparable countries, with around 152.000 cases and 1.590 deaths.

This Friday, the State of Victoria reported 2.189 new local COVID-19 cases and 16 deaths, making it the epicenter of the Delta outbreak in Australia. Meanwhile, Sydney, which was previously hit by the Delta variant, has now recorded 345 cases.

Under more relaxed rules, restaurants and cafes can reopen with up to 20 people indoors and 50 outdoors, all of whom must be vaccinated, while 10 guests can congregate at home. However, masks will remain mandatory.

To note, the reopening would be a boost to Australia's A$2 trillion (USD 1.5 trillion) economy after the recent lockdowns pushed it to the brink of its second recession in as many years.