At midnight, Australia's second-largest state emerged from what some experts and local media called the world's longest lockdown.
Victoria is the third state or territory -- after New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) -- to begin living with Covid-19 after reaching its target of a 70% adult double vaccination rate.
The easing of restrictions means that, as of Friday, more than half of Australia's nearly 26 million population is living with the virus, while authorities in the rest of the country push to raise vaccination rates while controlling borders to keep it out.
