Concerns regarding the Omicron strain led the federal government postpone the reopening of the international borders which were planned for December 15 of this year.
Around 2,00,000 skilled workers, as well as students, were expected to initiate their re-entry from the coming Wednesday but after the senior ministers in the federal government reviewed the plans for reopening of borders in the national cabinet meeting that took place on last Tuesday and therefore decided to defer the reopening of the international borders.
The federal government confirmed the same through an official statement released on Monday evening and confirmed their decision in the same and further conveyed that foreign travellers from countries such as Japan and South Korea would also not be allowed to enter into the country until December 15.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Scott Morrison came to this specific decision in a meeting conducted amongst the national security committee of the federal government cabinet which was held on Monday night in response to the threat pertained across from the new mutated coronavirus strain as the health experts have conveyed that it would be too early to know if the Omicron will be more or less severe as compared to the Delta variant.
The government of Australia was planning to open the international borders on this Wednesday for the students and skilled works and also another selected group of immigrants who are being vaccinated completely but reconsidered their decision in response to the newly registered cases of the Omicron variant within Australia.
Health Minister Greg Hunt however further confirmed in the meeting held on Monday that Australia as a united nation has always been prepared for any variants of the virus, with approximately 87 percent of the total and eligible population vaccinated already. Further, he confirmed that the country is not only prepared with respect to the vaccination rates but are also prepared in terms of their readiness in the hospitals and the country will continue to follow all the required medical guidelines and advice to prevent any spread of the disease.
The federal government of Australia has taken an immediate action and has stopped flights from a total of nine southern African nations and has implemented in place the requirement for the quarantine from any individual who must have recently entered in the country from any of these regions of Africa. All international arrivals, in addition to above, should also self-isolate themselves for upto 72 hours after their arrival.
Although, until now, the variant appears to be mild but the health minister has confirmed that the health administrators will not hesitate to take the required additional steps in case more preparation would be required.
The states of NSW, Victoria and ACT are working constantly along with the federal government of Australia as they are deciding whether to increase the 72 hours duration of home quarantine which are required to be undertaken by the international travellers.
The number of Omicron variant cases have increased to 5 till the Monday afternoon in Australia as 2 more cases were being confirmed in the travellers that were fully vaccinated and arrived in Sydney from the Southern Africa. So, the national cabinet would be again meeting to discuss the rapid increase in the number of cases of the new variant and current measures that are required to be undertaken to reduce the spread of the virus in Australia.
Mr Hunt also added that the frequent cabinet meetings will be ensuring that there is a common understanding, common information as well as common actions among the states and also the territories, along with the federal government. According to a recent update, half a million population within Australia who are eligible for the vaccine booster have not completed the same yet as the nation’s top health experts are still considering the decision to shorten the duration between the second and third vaccine doses as the concerns have started to originate about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The health spokesman of the cabinet confirmed that the Australia Government is required to increase the vaccination numbers in all those regions within the nation that are lagging behind than others and mainly includes indigenous communities.
The Omicron variant has been recognised as one of the predominant strains in the South African region and has therefore resulted into closure of borders across the globe as increasing number of cases are detected on a daily basis in countries such as Europe, Asia and Australia.
Some early evidences received shows that the Omicron strain of the virus appears to be milder as compared to other previous variants of the coronavirus as the first two cases detected in the country were asymptomatic but the Chief Health Officer have told that these are few cases only for giving the final conclusion. In addition to this, some reports received from the South Africa have also confirmed that the variant is mild and other information are implying that the cases for hospitalization are increasing and therefore more information is required in this regard to confirm.
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