Sydney ends coronavirus lockdown after 106 days

Elated Sydneysiders celebrated the end of almost four months of coronavirus lockdown on Oct. 11, putting behind them a period of "blood, sweat and no beers" in Australia's largest city.

Sydney's more than five million residents were subjected to a 106-day lockdown, designed to limit the march of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

With new infections now falling - New South Wales state recorded 496 cases on Monday - and more than 70 percent of over-16s fully vaccinated, the city is dusting off the cobwebs.

From midnight pubs, restaurants and cafes began throwing open their doors to anyone who could prove they were vaccinated.

They included 32-year-old Garth Diemer and his team of high-spirited construction workers who were making the most of a rain day.

"We knew the pubs were going to be open about 10 am 'cause it's Freedom Day, so I thought I'd take the blokes down for a couple of schooners," he told AFP.

"I'll tell you what, mate, it is bloody beautiful just to have a beer right in the middle of the heart of Sydney, at the Circular Quay and have a beer with your mates. I'm over this lockdown."

Cafe-goer Peter Morgan, 35, was also relishing his newly regained freedoms.

"Even though it's like freezing outside, it's so good," he said.

"The first thing I'm going to do is see my parents. Actually no, not see my parents. I'm going to go to Lakemba to get a Lebanese mixed plate and then go see my parents."

Across the city, shaggy-haired customers lined up outside hairdressers to get eyebrow-raising home cuts and dye jobs repaired.

"I couldn't wait to be in here to get the hair done," said Brett Toelle, a salon customer in Surry Hills whose last trim was 15 weeks ago. "That's the longest...