(Bloomberg) — Australia’s most-populous state reported a record 2,482 Covid-19 cases Saturday, a day after easing international arrival rules for vaccinated travelers.
The infections in New South Wales are the highest daily caseload for any Australian jurisdiction since the beginning of the pandemic. Still, in a state of more than 8 million people, only 206 people are hospitalized with Covid. Twenty-six are in intensive care and one death was recorded.
The state government on Friday eased arrival rules for international travelers and aircrew arriving in Sydney, no longer requiring 72 hours of isolation. They will only have to receive a negative test after arriving in the state, officials said in a press release Friday.
Meanwhile, at least 100 recent school graduates celebrating year end in Australia’s popular beach town of Byron Bay have been ordered to isolate after a positive Covid case was detected, Nine News reported late Friday. The graduates have been banned from entering the town and are only allowed to leave the locked down camping ground if they are going home.
Victoria state will also scrap the isolation requirements for international arrivals, after reporting 1,504 new infections and seven deaths on Saturday, with 384 hospitalized and 84 active in intensive care.
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