From 18 April 2022, all Australian citizens and permanent residents, including the unvaccinated, will be able to leave Australia without an individual travel exemption.
On Facebook, Senator Gerard Rennick wrote: "I’ve checked this with the Ministers office and can confirm this true. Don’t all leave at once now will you. 👋"
This can also be independently verified by Greek City Times.
Elsewhere, vaccinated Australians and permanent residents can enter New Zealand if they have had a negative pre-departure test.
On arrival, they must self-test for Covid-19, and unless it comes back positive for the virus, there is no requirement to enter quarantine or self-isolation.
Wednesday marks the first step in re-welcoming international visitors back to the country – a long wait for many, which was evident as family and friends greeted arrivals with tears and embraces, to the backdrop of waiata (Māori song).
For their part, health experts are predicting this week's Easter period could see a surge in undetected cases of COVID-19, as more Australians prepare to travel over the long weekend.
Infectious diseases expert Dr Paul Griffin from the University of Queensland said those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms could be putting off testing, for fear a positive result could interfere with holiday plans.
"People have obviously been planning a well-deserved break, maybe travelling around and they don't want to cancel that by having a positive test," Dr Griffin said.
"We need to make people understand that even if it's a well-deserved break, maybe looking at travelling somewhere nice or catching up with family... if you are unwell, you do need to get tested and stay home."
Inaccurate at-home tests are also believed to be contributing to lower numbers of daily COVID-19 cases.
COVID-19 patient Deborah Dowsett said despite showing numerous symptoms, saliva RATs purchased online have all produced a negative result.
It was announced on Monday that Greece will become the 30th nation to remove Covid-related entry requirements for all travelers, including those from the US, Canada, and the UK.
The new rules are scheduled to go into effect on May 2, 2022, according to local reports released earlier this week.
If you don’t have a vaccination certificate, you won’t have to worry about any internal restrictions throughout Greece come summer. On top of removing all travel restrictions for international arrivals, Greece will also be scrapping all internal vaccine passport requirements from May 2nd until September.
Just last week, officials in Greece indicated that they would be making it easier for fully vaccinated travelers from the US to visit the Republic this summer, but Monday’s announcement takes things one step further.
Currently, fully vaccinated travelers to Greece have to show proof of vaccination in order to enter Greece test-free. This will allow them to cross the land or air border as well as travel internally throughout the Republic.
The testing requirement for fully vaccinated US and Canadian travelers was removed in February of this year.
Unvaccinated international travelers, they must show either a negative rapid antigen test result taken 24 hours of arrival to Greece or a PCR test 72 hours from arrival. There’s also the possibility that some travelers will be required to take a rapid antigen test upon arrival.
As for the internal vaccine passport system, the current rules state that travelers must carry proof of vaccination, proof of full recovery from Covid, or a negative Covid test result in order to enter most public spaces throughout Greece. The Covid test result must be a PCR from 72 hours of entry or an antigen test 48 hours from entry.
According to Greece’s official tourism board, this includes all tourist accommodations and most outdoor public spaces including outdoor dining and live events.
For indoor public spaces, the rules are a little more rigid. In order to access services such as restaurants, bars, cafes, and museums, all patrons must show either proof of recovery from Covid (from 6 months or less) or proof of full vaccination.
READ MORE: New tourism campaign launched for Greece’s 2022 hotspot islands.
