December 14, Kathmandu: Australia’s international border will open on Wednesday (December 15). The Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison has said that there will be no change in the border policy issued earlier, adding that the border will be reopened from Wednesday.
The policy of opening the border was postponed for two weeks to study the new variant of coronavirus Omicron. Last week’s cabinet meeting also discussed the possibility of re-imposing the ban by next February if the problem escalates.
Prime Minister Morrison made it clear that no changes have been made to the status of other designated visa holders, including international students, who can come to Australia after fulfilling health regulations.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said he would take security precautions to fight the coronavirus, amid rumors of further bans, including lockdowns due to the Omicron variant. He said that the policy of opening the border of the state has been maintained to reduce the suspicion prevailing in the community.
“We don’t want to go back to the lockdown, nobody wants to,” said Minister Hunt. Minister Hunt said it remains to be seen how effective the currently recognized corona vaccines will be against the Omicron variant.
Earlier, the Australian government had decided to open the border on December 1 as part of a plan to bring in around 200,000 skilled workers and international students to Australia.
Some media outlets, citing the cabinet’s decision, said the border would not be reopened until February.
According to Prime Minister Morrison, other restrictive measures will be gradually eased.
Similarly, the government is going to remove the provision of compulsory quarantine. However, students coming to Australia must be fully vaccinated.
