International travel resumes as Victoria records 1471 COVID cases four deaths

Victoria has recorded 1471 COVID-19 cases and four deaths as the first fully vaccinated Australians jetted off overseas without the need for a travel exemption for the first time in about 19 months.

There were 25 international flights scheduled to fly in and out of Melbourne and Sydney airports on Monday as dozens of excited Australians lined up at the check-in desks or arrived back on home shores.

There were emotional scenes at Sydney Airport on Monday morning as Australians returned home.Credit:AP

The first service to land in Sydney just before 6am was a Singapore Airlines flight, followed by a Qantas long-haul flight from Los Angeles.

In Melbourne, the first international flight scheduled to touch down in Tullamarine just before 11am was a Singapore Airlines flight.

While vaccinated arrivals are no longer required to quarantine, all passengers arriving from overseas must get a PCR test done within 72 hours of their outbound flight to show a negative result at airport check-in.

Qantas passengers have been asked to check-in four hours before departure and must wear a face mask for their entire trip, apart from when eating and drinking.

Among the first Victorians heading overseas was Brunswick’s Janan Salih Sarikaya, who ill fly to her native Cyprus on Friday with her sister to visit their 78-year-old mother, who is undergoing surgery on Thursday.

“I always said I wish I was a stamp on a letter and [could] be sent in the post,” she said. “I said, ‘as soon as it opens I will go’.”

Also flying this week will be Melbourne man David O’Connor, who will board a plane for Britain on Wednesday to attend the funeral of his partner’s mother.

“I don’t know what to expect in the UK because they’re not exactly doing very well with COVID,” he said.

The introduction of quarantine-free international travel comes after Victoria eased restrictions for non-essential retail and entertainment venues on Friday ahead of hitting the 80 per cent vaccination milestone on Saturday.

The state is on track to ease further restrictions later this month, with more than 92 per cent of Victorians over the age of 16 having received one jab of the COVID-19 vaccine.

There were 46,065 coronavirus tests processed on Sunday, while 14,413 people rolled up their sleeves for a coronavirus jab at a state-run vaccination hub.

There are now 21,959 active coronavirus cases across the state. Of those, 699 are in hospital, 136 in intensive care and 86 are on a ventilator.

Rapid COVID-19 tests become available for home use

Monday also marked the first day rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 became available for at-home use in Australia. The Therapeutic Goods Administration last month ruled the approved kits could be sold from November 1.

Before today, rapid antigen testing were only used under clinical supervision in settings such as workplaces, hospitals, and aged care facilities.

The kits provide a result in 15 to 30 minutes, and have become popular in countries with high infection rates, such as the UK and Spain.

However, they do have a lower accuracy rate. Anyone who returns a positive rapid test for COVID-19 is required to get a PCR swab test and isolate at least until they receive the result from it.

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths will be among the first to sell the kits, which will cost between $10 and $30 each.

They will be available for buy at Coles stores across Victoria from Tuesday and from Woolworths outlets, at the customer service desk, from Wednesday.

In a statement, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said rapid antigen tests were most reliable after the onset of symptoms, such as a fever, sore throat, cough, chills, sweats, shortness of breath, runny nose, or loss of the sense of smell and taste.

“The availability and approval of this technology for use in the home is a big step forward, but please take extra care to understand the result and what steps you still may have to take,” he said.

With Rachael Dexter and Andrew Taylor

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