Australia reopens borders to non-citizens despite Omicron fear

Australia on Wednesday, reopened borders to vaccinated skilled migrants and foreign students after a near two-year ban on their entry, in a bid to boost an economy hit by stop-start COVID-19 lockdowns and restart international travel.

The emergence of the new Omicron variant forced officials to delay the reopening by two weeks after health officials sought a temporary pause to get more information about the strain, which so far appears to show milder symptoms than other COVID-19 variants.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “We’re going to live with this virus, and we’re not going to let it drag us back to where we’ve been.

“We’ve got one of the highest vaccination rates, which means we can fight this thing. We don’t have to surrender to it.”

Australia has inoculated nearly 90% of its population above 16 with two doses and shortened the wait time for booster shots after the emergence of the Omicron cases.

Australia closed its borders in March 2020 in a bid to contain the spread of the new coronavirus and had limited the number of citizens and permanent residents allowed entry.

The relaxation of border rules is expected to ease labour shortages, which threaten to hamper an economic rebound.

The state logged 1,360 new cases, the biggest daily rise in more than three months and since a nearly four-month lockdown ended in early October. Australia has recorded about 235,500 cases and 2,117 deaths since the pandemic began.

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