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Millions of Australians will be let in to Tasmania after the coronavirus risk was downgraded from medium to low.
People from 24 local councils in Sydney will be allowed to travel to Tasmania from 12.01am on Friday, Premier Peter Gutwein announced on Thursday.
‘The outbreak in the northern beaches appears to be over. The last diagnosed case was over a week ago now,’ Tasmanian Public Health Director Mark Veitch said.
Millions of Australians could be let in to one idyllic holiday state after the coronavirus risk is downgraded from medium to low (stock image)
Pictured: A beach in Tasmania. People in 24 Sydney regions and the whole of Brisbane will be able to travel without quarantining
However 10 council areas in the city’s west, including Canterbury and Parramatta, remain medium risk.
Anyone who has recently been on those areas must still quarantine upon arrival.
Mr Gutwein also announced Brisbane will shift from medium risk to low risk.
It means travel between Queensland and Tasmania can occur without restrictions.
‘Queenslanders entering the state will no longer need to quarantine,’ Mr Gutwein said.
Tasmania declared Brisbane high risk on January 8 after an outbreak of the more contagious British Covid-19 strain and forced all recent arrivals into isolation.
Pictured: People wearing masks while shopping in Sydney CBD on Wednesday, January 20
Travel between Queensland and Tasmania can occur without restrictions (stock image of a woman in Tasmania)
Those people still in quarantine will be allowed out at 12.01am on Friday.
‘I want to thank them for their patience during this. It’s been a challenging period of time,’ Mr Gutwein said.
‘Not everybody I’m sure will race out at one minute past 12. Some may like to sleep through the course of the night, but it will be welcome news.’
Both Queensland and NSW recorded no locally-acquired cases on Thursday.
Parts of Sydney are the only remaining quarantine requirement for domestic travellers entering Tasmania.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also downgraded Brisbane from a ‘red zone’ to an ‘orange zone’ from 6pm on Saturday.
Travelling from an orange zone means Brisbane residents will have to get a permit to cross the border, get a test within three days and isolate until it comes back negative.
A red zone means residents cannot cross into Victoria without an exemption.
Greater Sydney, including Wollongong and the Blue Mountains, is still classified as a ‘red zone’.
The Morrison Government is also considering allowing quarantine-free travel from Pacific islands.
In October, Scott Morrison allowed travel from New Zealand after the country eliminated Covid-19, but Australians are not yet allowed to go the other way.
Aerial view of a boat carrying tourist to the stunning Erakor island in the Port Vila bay, Vanuatu
Health Minister Greg Hunt on Thursday said medical experts are considering adding Pacific nations such as Fiji and Vanuatu to the list of ‘green’ countries which can send flights to Australia without quarantine.
If those nations, which are heavily dependent on tourism, agree to a two-way travel bubble then Australians could be allowed to fly overseas for the first time since March.
‘We have been supportive of the idea of expanding the existing travel bubble with New Zealand,’ Mr Hunt told reporters.
‘This is based very much on the health advice and so we keep countries under review.’
The government categorises countries as green, amber or red, depending on how many Covid infections they are suffering.
The government is considering allowing quarantine-free travel from Pacific islands such as Fiji, giving Aussies hope of an overseas holiday this year. Pictured: Mamanuca Islands
Fiji has only had 55 cases of the virus and has zero active cases.
‘Our goal is if the Pacific countries are able to be shown to be at the lowest risk level – and they are doing extraordinarily well – and that we’re able to put in the appropriate protections, then we could well expand that bubble,’ Mr Hunt said.
‘But that’s evidence based, based on very hard medical data, and the overview of the Commonwealth Chief Health Officer on the advice of the medical expert panel.’
Mr Hunt declined to say which countries would be included or when a decision would be made.
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