According to Australian officials, residents in Sydney who have been vaccinated will be accessible by mid-October, who laid out a "blueprint for freedom" as case counts dropped in the city.
Stay-at-home orders in Sydney and neighboring New South Wales are likely to be lifted if the double-dose vaccination rate reaches 70%, which state premier Gladys Berejiklian said was now expected to happen on October 11.
Vaccinated people will be permitted to reopen closed pubs, restaurants, and businesses, and friends and relatives living across Australia's most significant metropolis will be reunited for the first time in more than three months.
"We just have to hang in there for this week and next week," Berejiklian said.
"We're almost there, and let's not give up at the last moment."
The "blueprint for freedom," according to Deputy Premier John Barilaro, will allow travel across New South Wales once 80 percent of over-16s have been wholly vaccinated, which is expected by the end of October.
At the same time, restrictions on the number of guests allowed at funerals and weddings would be abolished, and sporting events would be allowed to restart.
On the other hand, Unvaccinated adults will have to wait until at least December 1 to enjoy the same privileges, when officials expect roughly 90% of the eligible population to be vaccinated, according to officials.
The statement came as the number of new daily cases in New South Wales fell below 800 on Monday, down from about 1,500 earlier in September. The number of individuals who had received at least one vaccine dosage reached 85 percent.
In the coming weeks, hospitals, according to Berejiklian, would be overwhelmed with a rise in Covid-19 patients.
"We know that once we reopen at 70 percent double dose, the case numbers will skyrocket," she predicted.
"However, the fact that so many people have received at least the first dose of the vaccine will protect us because those people will have an additional layer of protection against ending up in the hospital or worse."
A winter rise in the extremely dangerous delta coronavirus strain has pushed Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, into months-long lockdowns.
However, a previously slow vaccine deployment has picked up speed across the country, prompting officials to detail cautious reopening plans, including the possibility of overseas travel by the end of the year.
