SYDNEY, (Reuters) Thousands of Sydney children were able to return to school Monday, after months of learning at home. Sydney is Australia’s biggest city and has seen rising vaccination rates. COVID-19 restrictions have been relaxed.

After New South Wales, the state that is home to Sydney, achieved an 80% double-dose inoculation rate, masks won’t be required in office settings and people can gather outdoors and in their homes.

This latest step in a long line of plans to ease restrictions signals a move by Australia’s biggest cities towards living with the virus. Officials warn that this strategy will result in an increase in COVID-19 infections in the coming weeks.

Dominic Perrottet, New South Wales Premier, said Monday that “this is not over” and called for people to follow all remaining health regulations.

Pubs, bars, and gyms may allow for more vaccine-acquired patrons. Nightclubs are allowed to reopen for seated drinks, and weddings can accommodate unlimited guests. But all should adhere to social distancing guidelines.

It has taken a while for the students to return to school. The youngest and oldest, those who are in year 1, year 2 and 12 respectively, returned on Monday. All other students return next week.

New South Wales had 265 cases of new patients on Monday. This is the lowest single-day increase in 10 weeks, and far below the 1,599 reported in September.

Nearby Victoria saw 1,903 more cases than the 1,838 reported a day before. As full vaccine levels are nearing 70%, state capital Melbourne will soon be able to leave its lockdown. According to Australian media, the city was under tight stay-home orders for nine months starting March 2020. This is the longest time in history.

However, some virus-free countries have indicated that they will close their internal borders to protect themselves from the possibility of reopening and causing damage to their health system.

The Federal Government, on the other hand, announced that they would begin rolling out their vaccination passport to international travelers starting Tuesday. It is an important step in Australia’s plan to let citizens travel overseas from next month.

Authorities said last week that vaccinated international travellers, initially only citizens and permanent residents, will be allowed to enter Sydney from Nov. 1 https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/covid-19-infections-linger-near-record-levels-australias-victoria-2021-10-14 without the need to quarantine..

Australia was exposed to coronavirus in a very low number of cases (145,000) and deaths (1,533).