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 Australia is now in phase A, or the suppression phase of the plan,
with large parts of the country plunging in and out of lockdowns to
stamp out the coronavirus.
Sydney is under a strict stay-at-home order because of a worrying
surge of infections since the middle of June, driven by the highly
contagious Delta variant.
Australia had handled the coronavirus crisis much better than many
other developed countries, with just over 34,000 cases and fewer
than 1,000 deaths, but that has been achieved largely by sealing its
border to all but a trickle of people since the pandemic began.
Morrison said the border would be gradually reopened in phase C of
the plan, when 80% of adults have been vaccinated. About 18% of
adults have been vaccinated already under a campaign that got off to
a slow start.
"We will lift all restrictions on out-bound travel for vaccinated
Australians," Morrison told a news conference, referring to phase C.
"There will be a gradual reopening of inward and out-bound
international travel with safe countries," he said.
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 Morrison did not give a
timetable for the plan but expressed confidence
that phase B, or 70% of the population
vaccinated, could be reached by the end of the
year. "Lockdowns in phase B are
less likely, but they are possible," Morrison said.
"When you reach 70%, the advice is you have built up a much more
significant level of protection which enables the usual settings and
levers that we have to deal with an outbreak, particularly Delta,
are able to be more effective," he said.
Australia has opened a travel bubble with New Zealand, which has
also contained the virus successfully by sealing its border and with
effective testing and tracing of the few cases that have cropped up.
 Australia is in talks with Singapore on a similar travel bubble
plan, Morrison said. (Reporting by Swati Pandey and Paulina Duran in Sydney; Editing by
Alex Richardson, Robert Birsel)
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