Australia's Melbourne back to the races, shops as vaccination rate hits 80%

FILE PHOTO: Diners eat outside St Kilda's Rococo restaurant on the second day of eased coronavirus disease (COVID-19) regulations, following a lockdown to curb an outbreak, in Melbourne, Australia, October 23, 2021. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city which has endured nearly nine months of lockdowns since the start of the pandemic, saw people flocking to shops and gigs for the first time in months on Saturday as public health curbs eased.

The city of five million, which re-emerged from its sixth lockdown last week, was reopening further as full vaccination rates across Victoria state, of which Melbourne is capital, was set to reach 80% for those 16 and older.