While health experts continue to discuss whether booster shots should be timed differently, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has hinted that Australia would open its borders to international students and skilled workers next week.
Australia’s National Cabinet meeting yesterday did not set a precise date for the reopening of the country’s international border, but reports suggest that the country’s borders could reopen to international students and skilled workers as soon as next week.
Key Takeaways:
- Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stated that international students and skilled workers will be welcomed as early as next week.
- In the meanwhile, health officials are contemplating whether or not to adjust the booster dose schedule.
- The Australian National Cabinet has yet to set a date for the reopening of Australia’s international border.
The federal government said that emergency powers would be extended for another two months until February 2022, maintaining required mask wear for international flights and restrictions on foreign travel from high-risk countries.
The impact of the Omicron strain of Covid-19 was high on the agenda for the year’s final national cabinet meeting.
However, Morrison indicated his administration was leaning toward reopening on Dec. 15 to international students and skilled employees.
This was planned to happen in early December, but it was pushed back to allow officials to gather more information on the Omicron variant.
When asked if the border would reopen on Friday, Morrison said the government was still seeking more information and that it would keep moving forward.
Despite Morrison’s upbeat tone, the federal government has decided to keep several policies in place.
Morrison added that the National Cabinet had taken note of the Commonwealth’s efforts to change Australia’s international border settings in a way that was consistent with a suppression strategy and proportionalte to the current health information on Omicron.
It can be recalled that the country had already postponed the reopening of Australia’s border from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15 due to worries about the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
Greg Hunt, Australia’s health minister, previously stated that he could not promise that Australia’s border will reopen to overseas students and visa holders in mid-December.
In February 2022, the National Cabinet is expected to reconvene.
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