Residents in NSW are booking interstate holidays again as the state’s full vaccination rate reaches 81.6 per cent. 

Virgin Australia said bookings for flights soared in the 24 hours after Victoria and Queensland signalled they would open their borders before Christmas, once vaccination thresholds were met.

“We recorded a 134 per cent increase in bookings yesterday … which is a fantastic result and snapshot of the pent-up demand to come once borders reopen,” a spokesperson said on Tuesday. 

Nearly half of all bookings were made for travel during December and January.

NSW has 92.3 per cent of eligible people 16 and older with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 81.6 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated.

The state’s chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant has said passing 92 per cent was a “great achievement” but she wants to see the rates increase.

“I want to get 95 per cent or even above,” Dr Chant said on Tuesday.

She was pleased high testing rates were being maintained, with 90,597 tests in 24 hours.

The fall in the number of people in hospital and in intensive care was also a relief for staff who have been working in a system under stress for months.

“But it will not mean they have much of a breather – we also have business as usual,” Dr Chant said.

NSW recorded 273 locally acquired virus cases and four more deaths in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday.

The number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 has dropped, with 589 in hospital including 128 in intensive care and 69 on ventilators.

NSW began the second stage of its roadmap out of lockdown on Monday after passing the 80 per cent fully vaccinated milestone.

Children in kindergarten, year one and 12 are back at school and other years return next week.

Restrictions have been eased in hospitality venues and up to 20 visitors are allowed in homes, while outdoor gatherings of up to 50 are allowed – but only for those who are fully vaccinated.

Vaccinated office workers are no longer required to wear masks, but masks are still required in other indoor areas, such as public transport or shops.

Fully vaccinated people returning to the office who maintain COVID-19 safe behaviour were “very unlikely” to become a close contact if a colleague became infected, Dr Chant said.

Less than two weeks after the first easing of restrictions, Dr Chant warned an expected rise in case numbers was yet to come.

“Let’s try to make sure that our ICUs have as few as possible people with COVID in them, as we open up over this Christmas-New Year period,” she said. 

There have been 479 COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since the latest outbreak began on June 16, and 535 in total since the start of the global pandemic.

AAP

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