Australia on Friday said it would keep amandatory two-week quarantine for all overseas visitors, even as vaccinationsare rolled out across the country and the world, reports AFP.
Chief medical officer Paul Kelly said there is still not enough evidenceabout vaccines’ ability to limit transmission to allow the dismantling ofborder controls that have virtually closed the country off from the world foralmost a year.
Most non-citizens are barred from entering Australia; there are strict capson how many residents can return each day and anyone who does so must undergotwo weeks of self-paid hotel quarantine. A few thousand short-term visitors now enter the country every month, downfrom more than one million before the pandemic began.
Kelly said that although preliminary data shows the AstraZeneca vaccinedoes reduce transmission of the virus, the evidence was not yet conclusive enough for Australia to let its guard down.
Asked if quarantine would remain until further notice, Kelly said “yes”.
“At the moment, that two-week quarantine in hotels — as has been so successful up till now — remains regardless of vaccination.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison meanwhile announced that the government wouldvery slightly ease the caps on overseas arrivals and look into expandingcapacity at an existing government-run Outback quarantine camp and developingmore facilities.
The news will come as a blow to Australia’s tourism industry, worth roughlyUS$50 billion a year.
Hopes of reopening Australia’s borders have been severely dented by theemergence of new strains of the virus, which have prompted many countries tointroduce or strengthen their own quarantine systems.
Australia has almost no current cases of community transmission and expectsto begin vaccinations this month.
