Australia is rowing back and is holding out the prospect of opening the border for international tourism before Christmas.

“Bringing Australians home is of course our priority,” said Trade and Tourism Minister Dan Tehan in a television interview. "But in my opinion we can start before Christmas to let everyone else - including international tourists - in." However, this relief is conditional, according to the ORF. At least 80 percent of the population over the age of 16 must have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus beforehand, otherwise the plans would be thrown overboard again. By the weekend, about 68 percent of the adult population in Australia had double protection.

Last week, the regional premiere of the state of New South Wales with the metropolis of Sydney announced that it would reopen the region's international borders from November 1st. The 14-day hotel quarantine will then no longer apply to those who have been completely vaccinated. In New South Wales, more than 80 percent of the population has been vaccinated twice. However, the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison specified a few hours later that the new rules would initially only apply to Australian citizens and people residing in Australia.

The authorities had closed the borders around a year and a half ago and largely cut off Australia from the rest of the world. Since then, many Australians have not been able to travel home because the costs for flights and quarantine were extremely high and permits were difficult to come by.