Queensland eases border rules to scenes of joy
Queensland, Australia's third most populous state, shut its border to New South Wales in July and then later to people coming from Victoria to protect against a Delta outbreak that rocked the country's east for several months.
Qantas said it would fly nearly 10,000 passengers to and from Queensland on Monday (December 13) in about 100 flights, with most fully booked.
The easing of border restrictions comes just days before school summer holidays begin and will be a boost for the state's lucrative tourism sector which has been badly hit by the internal border curbs.
Australian states have been relaxing border rules after reaching higher vaccination levels despite the threat from the new Omicron variant. Australia has recorded nearly 229,000 cases of COVID-19 and 2,104 deaths, far fewer than many comparable countries.
