Australian PM Morrison urges states to keep borders open for Christmas amid Omicron threat

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has advised state premiers to "not get spooked" by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and remain calm about internal border closures. According to The Guardian, Morrison stated that the Australian government's decision to delay reopening Australia to international students and skilled workers was merely a prudent and temporary precaution to allow health authorities to gather information regarding Omicron. At a press briefing in Canberra on November 30, he expressed optimism that Omicron would "prove to be a more moderate form of the virus."

Speaking to the reporters, PM morrison stated, “We’re not going back to lockdowns, none of us want that. None of us want to go back to those long quarantines and all of those sorts of issues, and the way you protect against that, what we did last night, was protecting against that by having a sensible pause."

The break, according to the prime minister, will allow the country to "go forward into Christmas with confidence," The Guardian reported. He further added that he is looking forward to everyone coming together for Christmas, New Year's, and the summer holidays. Morrison agreed to tell the premiers in the national cabinet to keep their calm and stick to their plans of re-opening Australian State Borders by Christmas. The prime minister will meet with premiers and chief ministers of territories at a national cabinet meeting on Tuesday afternoon, as NSW Health reported a possible fifth case of the new variant in the state. On Monday, the Northern Territory verified a case.

Australian borders to re-open from December 15

The federal government announced over the weekend that anyone who had been in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi, or Mozambique in the previous 14 days unless they were an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or their immediate family, would be denied international entry. Following that, the government announced on Monday night that the date for reopening Australia to international skilled workers and students, as well as humanitarian, working holidaymakers, and provisional family visa holders, would be moved from 1 December to 15 December. The national security committee also postponed the reopening of the airport to Japanese and South Korean visitors until December 15.

Morrison stated that the decision would not prevent 250 students from arriving in Sydney next week as part of a pilot programme that was already in place and would be carried out under very controlled circumstances. He left open the possibility that the 15 December deadline could be pushed back if health experts concluded that Omicron was less severe. Morrison later told parliament that he wanted to keep the momentum for opening up going, according to the media agency.

On Tuesday, NSW Health said preliminary testing "strongly indicates" that another overseas traveller had been infected with the Omicron variant of concern, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to five. According to an NSW Health statement, the traveller had been in southern Africa and arrived in Sydney on flight QR908 from Doha to Sydney on November 25 and then drove to the Central Coast. Moreover, more than 92% of people aged 16 and up have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 87% fully vaccinated, according to the most recent national figures released on Monday.

(With inputs from agencies)

Image: AP