Australia won't impose 'blind shut down' due to emergence of Omicron variant: Deputy PM

Amid rising cases of the new variant of COVID in Australia, the top authorities including, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, would hold a meeting on Monday afternoon, reported AP. According to the news agency, the main agenda of the meeting would be considering border restrictions. However, with the statement of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, it seems Australia would not invoke a total lockdown in the country or blindly close its international borders. "We can't just shut down every time there's a new variant, because there's going to be new variants, and they're going to continue on. And, you know, the market won't work and society won't affirm it if we just keep shutting the showdown," ABC News quoted Joyce as saying. 

"So I think there will be a sort of a tempered, sober approach to the assessment of what we do next," added Australia's Deputy PM.

Notably, the statement from Joyce came at a time when the country has reported its third case of the Omicron variant on Monday. According to AP, a 30-year-old South African man who flew from Johannesburg to the northern Australian city of Darwin last Thursday tested positive for the new variant at Australia’s quarantine facility, Northern Territory Health Minister Natasha Fyles said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Morrison while speaking to a country based broadcast network said that the authorities are working tirelessly to explore more about the newer COVID variant and added the future decisions would be taken as per the situation. 

Canberra introduces blanket 72-hour quarantine requirement

"There’s no evidence to suggest that this leads to any more severe disease. If anything, it’s suggesting a lesser form of the disease, particularly for those who are vaccinated," Morrison told Nine Network television. "Case numbers of themselves are not the issue. It’s about whether people are getting a worse illness or it’s going to put stress on your hospital system," added Morrison. Notably, more than 86% of the Australian population aged 16 and over is fully vaccinated. Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, during a conversation with ABC News, said that the country has been pondering over imposing a "balanced approach" while invoking any restrictions in the country.  On the other hand, New South Wales and Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, as well as the national capital Canberra have introduced a blanket 72-hour quarantine requirement for all international arrivals. 

Know more about Omicron variant

The first case of a new COVID variant was detected in South Africa and has also been detected in travellers from Hong Kong and Botswana. It is worth mentioning that South Africa has reported nearly 200 cases of Coronavirus in the past two weeks ago. However, with the emergence of the newly detected variant, the cases in the country went up to 2,465. Notably, the difference of nearly 2,400 cases was reported within a gap of three days. The scientific community was concerned with the transmissibility of the new variant as it went from barely detected to spreading among the majority of the samples.

(Image: AP)