Australian Victoria state COVID-19 outbreak officially ends with zero active cases

The Australian state of Victoria recorded its first day with zero active COVID-19 cases in close to nine months on Tuesday, marking the official end of a severe second wave.

Victoria's cases peaked at over 700 per day in early August, however were brought under control by a statewide lockdown which has since ended.

"We now have zero active cases of coronavirus in our state. The one remaining active case has now been cleared of the virus and discharged from hospital," Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said in a press conference.

"This is a very significant day and every single Victorian can be proud of the part they've played in defeating the second wave."

Meanwhile Australia's northeast state of Queensland declared it would reopen to residents from the New South Wales (NSW) state capital of Sydney from Dec. 1 after being closed for the past four months.

The decision was made after NSW recorded 28 consecutive days of zero locally acquired cases without a known source, and comes in the wake of prolonged tension between state leaders over the duration of the closures.

In making the announcement, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a press conference that her state also hoped to reopen to residents from Victoria from the same date.

"Hopefully we will be doing exactly the same thing for Victoria and we'll see their case numbers today and tomorrow and be able to make that announcement," Palaszczuk said.