Omicron mutation – Australia: Border opening “freezes”

THE Australia suspended today (Monday (29/11) its plan to reopen the borders to students and skilled workers, citing uncertainties that still exist regarding its risk and contagion Omicron mutation of coronavirus.

In more detail, after an extraordinary meeting, the Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that the long-awaited opening of the border will not take place on December 1st, as provided, and that will be postponed for at least two weeks.

It is recalled that the country’s borders were closed for the majority of foreign nationals for more than 20 months, decision that caused lack of manpower and severely affected the vital tourism sector. Morrison described the postponement of the border opening as “necessary and temporary”, on the basis of medical recommendations. Australia has identified five infections with the Omicron variant to passengers coming from countries in southern Africa.

“The temporary suspension (of the opening of the border) will allow Australia to gather the information we need to better understand the Omicron variant,” he said. Morrison cited new concerns about “the effectiveness of the vaccine, the severity of the disease, including whether it can cause milder symptoms, and the rate at which it is transmitted.”

Australia: Its strict border health policy

Last week, Canberra announced that international students, skilled workers and holiday-work visa holders could return to Australia from 1 December. According to the APE-MPE, the government lifted restrictions on travel abroad for Australians in October, but categorically refused to relax restrictions for non-Australians, a decision that resulted in them being trapped in Australia about 1.4 million visa holders without the possibility of return if they decided to leave the country.

On March 20, 2020, Australia imposed a border closure of some of the strictest in the world to protect against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tens of thousands of Australians living abroad they could not return to their country for 19 months. Flights were infrequent and Australian citizens allowed to return had to undergo expensive 14-day quarantine at a hotel.

You may also like