Melanie Burton and Sonali Paul

MELBOURNE (Reuters] -Melbourne citizens flocked to its pubs and restaurants early Friday, after COVID-19’s latest restrictions were lifted.

Australia’s second-largest municipality has endured 262 days (or nearly nine months) of restrictions over six distinct lockdowns starting in March 2020. It is currently the longest continuous lockdown anywhere in the world.

Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires went through last year 234 consecutive days of lockdown.

Melbourne residents were seen cheering, clapping and dancing from their balconies. Cars honked continuously on Thursday at 11:59 pm, after lockdown restrictions had ended in early August.

Many places, such as food outlets or haircutters, open at unusual hours to accommodate the occasion.

Josh Mihan from The Bearded Man in Melbourne told Reuters that he’s almost booked for next month. He encourages customers to book appointments for Christmas.

He stated, “We all enjoy cutting hair. It’s so relaxing and sociable. I have asked our customers to book in their Christmas cuts.

Similar jubilant scenes were seen in the country’s largest city https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sydney-emerges-pandemic-lockdown-beer-hand-2021-10-11, Sydney, almost two weeks ago, when authorities started easing restrictions as COVID-19 vaccination rates rose.

Just over 70% of adults in Australia are now fully vaccinated and many residents are planning to fly overseas again as international border restrictions start to ease from November https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-ease-international-travel-curbs-sources-2021-10-01.

No longer will international travelers arriving in Sydney or Melbourne without being fully vaccinated need to go into quarantine starting Nov. 1.

Qantas Airways Ltd announced Friday that they would accelerate the plans to resume flights at many destinations, and to upsize certain planes in response to “massive customer demand”.

Qantas stated it would open a new Sydney-Delhi route in early December, and also announce plans for flight to Singapore, Fiji and Johannesburg.

Shortly after Qantas’ announcement, Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia stated that “This is an amazing day” and Australia was ready to take off.

Morrison stated that a quarantine-free travel zone between Australia and Singapore may be in operation as soon as next month, provided an agreement is reached.

A LONG TIME LOCKDOWN

With around 152,000 infections and 1,590 deaths, the coronavirus numbers in Australia are lower than other countries.

Victoria (the capital) reported 2189 COVID-19 local cases and 16 deaths last Friday. Victoria was the center of the Australian Delta virus outbreak.

New South Wales has seen a slight drop in daily case numbers to 345, which is close to Sydney’s home for the Delta variant. Another five people were killed in the state.

Authorities are no longer planning to use extended lockdowns in order to stop the spread of the virus, despite a momentum building for a vaccine rollout.

For those who own a Melbourne business, it has been difficult.

“We have been open for one year now, but this lockdown is the fourth. It’s been very difficult,” said David Boyle, the head chef at the up-market Farmer’s Daughters restaurant in Melbourne.

Restaurants and cafes may reopen indoors with 20 to 50 people, while outside can hold up to 50. Home hosts can host 10 guests. The use of masks is still required.

Australia’s A$2 Trillion ($1.5 Trillion) economy will benefit from the opening. It was in dire need of an economic boost after its recent lockdowns brought it to the edge of another recession.

Waitress Sullivan Kovacs, at Melbourne’s Journal Cafe once bustling, said Friday that the business was modest and would grow once more office workers and traders return to Melbourne.

Kovacs explained that traffic is mainly driven by city workers, while many of the tradies still have not returned to work.

($1 = 1.3259 Australian dollars)