- Home
- World News Today
- Australia finally reopens border after almost 600 days

Australia finally reopens border after almost 600 days
Australia’s international border reopened after almost 600 days and loved ones were able to reunite. An emotional scene was displayed at the Sydney Airport today.
On the 20th of March last year, Australia introduced some of the world’s toughest border restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Almost all travel to the island continent halted, prompting critics to dub the country a hermit state.
Australians have been banned from traveling overseas without permission for over 19 months. Families were split across different continents, and tens of thousands of nationals were stranded overseas.
The few who did gain permission to enter were forced to spend thousands of dollars and agree to spend 14 days locked in a hotel room.
Those conditions have now been dropped for the country’s two largest cities ‘Sydney and Melbourne’ which will now allow vaccinated Australians to come and go without quarantine of any kind.
Tim Turner, who had not seen his son for more than a year, said it was “pretty brilliant” that they were now able to reunite. Arriving in Sydney was beautiful, he told reporters at the airport.
Julie Choo, who flew back from the UK to visit her sick mother in the hospital, said she was trying not to cry as the plane touched down.
She said: “I just can’t wait to touch my mother’s hand when I see her. I can’t wait to hold her. It’s going to be very emotional.”