New York City emerges from COVID pandemic after vaccine rollout success.
The Big Apple has been under some degree of restrictions since March last year, but this butterfly is about to emerge from its COVID cocoon.
It comes as more than 6 million vaccine doses have been administered, which is almost 40 per cent of the city’s population.
The vaccine rollout’s success in NYC means things can start returning to normal.
Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed the city would be “fully open” by July, an announcement that has got the country – if not the world – pretty excited.
Why now?
It’s all about the jab.
Despite concerns that a sizeable portion of Americans may refuse to get vaccinated, there has been a huge uptake of vaccines.
More than 6.3 million people in New York alone have been given the jab, with more than 118 million people vaccinated across all of the US.
Mayor de Blasio said this was the reason the city could now open.
“What we’re seeing is that people have gotten vaccinated at extraordinary numbers,” he said.
‘The data and the science are saying out loud, it’s time to come back. Now we can see that light at the end of the tunnel.”
So what opens up now?
Up until recently, people were still not allowed to just go out for drinks in New York and needed to order a meal as well.
That rule has now been dropped and other restrictions will follow on July 1.
Restaurants and bars, hair dressers, gyms, cinemas, and museums will all reopen.
Midnight curfews will also lift.
Americans who have been vaccinated can also go out without masks.
“We’re all going to get to enjoy the city again and people are going to flock here from all over the country,” Mr De Blasio said.
When can we get back to the Big Apple?
Despite the good news, it will be a while yet before Australians can visit New York again.
The Federal budget on Tuesday revealed the Government’s assumptions for when Australia’s international borders would reopen.
And unfortunately it wont be any time soon.
The prediction is currently that the border will re-open mid-2022.
This is despite hopes that all Australians who want a COVID-19 vaccine can get one by the end of 2021.
Qantas is still planning to restart international flights by December this year, probably in the hope that high vaccine numbers might prompt the Government to ease back travel restrictions earlier than planned.
For now, we’ll just have to watch our mates in the US celebrate the freedoms that we have had (for the most part) for months.
Further U.S travel inspiration on SoWhereNext.com.au.