The federal government has deferred Wednesday’s planned easing of border restrictions for international students and other eligible visa holders until December 15.
Key points:
- The federal government says the pause is to allow time to get information on the new Omicron variant
- Australia has confirmed five cases of the variant
- The borders remain open to Australian nationals
The government says the temporary pause will allow it to gather further information about new Omicron variant of COVID-19 and whether it poses a greater threat than Delta.
The National Security Committee of cabinet made the decision today following medical advice from the Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly.
Border still open to Australians
Australia was due to reopen to international students, skilled migrants as well as humanitarian, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders from December 1.
However, the National Security Committee on Monday evening decided to pause that step.
"The temporary pause will ensure Australia can gather the information we need to better understand the Omicron variant, including the efficacy of the vaccine, the range of illness, including if it may generate more mild symptoms, and the level of transmission," a statement said.
Australia's international border is closed to travellers except for fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family, as well as fully vaccinated "green lane" travellers from New Zealand and Singapore and limited exemptions.
The government has also delayed the reopening of travel with Japan and the Republic of Korea until December 15.
"Australians can be assured that we are in a strong position to deal with COVID and its emerging challenges," the statement from the Prime Minister said.
"Australia has a proven record of dealing with COVID, we have one of the lowest fatality rates, highest vaccination rates and strongest economies in the world.
National cabinet will meet tomorrow afternoon to consider its response to the new strain, which has been labelled a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.
Variant of concern
Omicron was first reported to the WHO by South Africa earlier this month, and scientists are racing to understand whether the new strain poses a greater threat than Delta.
"Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic," the WHO said.
To date, no deaths linked to Omicron had been reported, though further research was needed to assess Omicron's potential to escape protection against immunity induced by vaccines and previous infections, it said.
ATAGI reviews booster shots
Earlier on Monday, Australia's Health Minister Greg Hunt called for calm, insisting Australia was "well placed" to deal with a new variant, as Australia's expert immunisation panel, ATAGI confirmed it would be reviewing time frames for COVID-19 booster shots.
"We will, as ever, allow them (ATAGI) to act independently and continue to follow their advice," Mr Hunt said.
"But we're prepared with supplies. We are already one of the earliest nations in the world, after Israel, to have a whole-of-nation booster program.
"If they recommend changes, we will follow those changes."
Restrictions on southern African nations
On Saturday the Commonwealth banned non-citizens from nine countries in the southern part of the African continent from entering Australia.
Following advice from Professor Kelly, the government has removed Seychelles from the list of countries of concern.
Non-citizens travelling from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi and Mozambique are not allowed to enter Australia.
New South Wales and Victoria are requiring all Australians returning from overseas to isolate for 72 hours, while other states have mandated 14 days of managed quarantine for international arrivals in response to the new variant.
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2021-11-29 09:04:27Z
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