Fully vaccinated Brits may soon be allowed to travel quarantine-free to dozens of sun-soaked countries across the globe - but Australians face the very real possibility of being trapped on a 'prison island' for years.
Ministers in the UK on Thursday revealed travel rules for double-jabbed Britons could be eased from July 26, which would allow them to take international holidays almost anywhere they pleased.
These freedoms are in stark contrast to those experienced in Australia, where snap border closures, draconian restrictions and lengthy lockdowns have become the norm.
And it's all down to Covid vaccination rates.
A meagre five per cent of the Australian population are double-jabbed, compared to 46 per cent in the United States and 47 per cent in the United Kingdom.
That UK figure could give Britons the freedom to travel to countries around the world - some on Australia's doorstep - but we are still banned from flying there.
The UK's high inoculation rate has helped millions start to enjoy a new Covid normal, with a string of coronavirus restrictions set to be lifted on July 19.
Europeans are enjoying the easing restrictions and a return to relative normality (pictured, Britons enjoying the England vs Germany Euros match in Spain on Wednesday)
And while Britain is still recording thousands of new cases daily, hospitalisations and deaths are on a downward track due to an efficient vaccine rollout.
The UK Government is still advising against travel to and from 'amber list' countries, with people returning to Britain from those nations forced to quarantine for 10 days.
But British bureaucrats want to ease the current international travel rules in time for the start of their school summer holidays, in just over three weeks time.
They have flagged scrapping quarantine requirements for the double-vaccinated, which could give UK residents the right to travel to more than a hundred countries without needing to go into isolation on return.
There are also growing hopes that the 'green list' of safe countries will be significantly expanded, with Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Singapore, Malta, and the Turks and Caicos Islands all considered 'safe' destinations
Tourists are seen arriving in Mallorca on Wednesday (pictured) with European travel slowly opening back up
A UK minister told The Times it is hoped the 'amber list' change for the fully-vaccinated 'will be in place by the first week of the summer holidays' - which is less than a month away.
Back in Australia, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for international border closures, as the jab rollout remains in tatters and holiday-starved Aussies begin to reach the end of their tether.
Previously, the country had prided itself on effectively eradicating local transmission of the virus through swift border closures and snap-lockdowns.
On Wednesday, 26,068 new cases were recorded in the United Kingdom – a rise of almost 70 per cent in a week, and the highest figure since late January
However there is growing confidence in the UK Government that the vaccination rollout has severely weakened the link between infections, and hospitalisations and deaths
Now, with 12 million Australians under strict stay-at-home-orders and the Indian Delta variant continuing to spread across Sydney, calls have been renewed to stop the crippling lockdown strategies.
Australians have been locked in their own country for 15 months and counting - with the government unwilling or unable to provide a timeline for reopening and experts predicting it may be 2024 before travel gets back to the pre-Covid norm.
But in welcome news for holiday-hungry Australians the 'magic numbers' at which vaccine thresholds will be set for international travel could be revealed in a critical cabinet meeting on Friday.
While Australians suffer a wave of Covid outbreaks and increasing lockdown restrictions, the rest of the world is easing back to normal (pictured, an empty McDonalds Jones Stadium in Newcastle, NSW, on Thursday night for the Sydney Roosters match against Melbourne Storm)
Ministers in the United Kingdom have announced current international travel rules could be eased from July 26, which would allow holidays to Bali (pictured) with Australians still banned from flying overseas
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will finally seek agreement from premiers and chief ministers to eliminate lockdowns, and grant domestic and international travel exemptions for double-jabbed Australians.
Mr Morrison told The Australian that it was important to think of the benefits of a vaccinated population and start calculating much-anticipated vaccine thresholds.
'It's time to start laying it out for the Australian public. It is imperative that the premiers, chief ministers and I address that question', he said.
'It comes down to the medical science and what are the magic numbers.'
The PM said the Federal Government had already done modelling on the UK Alpha variant and would now apply the same testing on the Indian Delta variant in order to set a threshold marker going forward.
He noted that the patience of the Australian public had helped officials achieve what they had done so far to protect lives and livelihoods.
Scrapping the quarantine requirement for the double-vaccinated could potentially reopen dozens of countries for foreign travel with the UK including Croatia, Malta and Singapore (pictured, passengers check in at London's Heathrow)
This week the Prime Minister encouraged people under 60 keen for the AstraZeneca vaccine to talk to their GP, despite the jab previously declared unsafe for younger people (pictured, passengers at Sydney Airport before lockdown)
Australians face many more months and perhaps years of isolation, as the sluggish Covid-19 vaccine rollout continues to spark snap-lockdowns and border closures (pictured, an eerily quiet Sydney CBD as the lockdown rolls on)
'We now need to get to the next level. The package the public deserves needs a consolidated agreement from all of us,' he added.
The controversy surrounding
