Australia to reopen borders to tourists on Feb 21; check details

Australia Tourism Industry: Australia is all set to reopen its borders for international tourists on February 21 after a hiatus of almost two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to media reports. "Australia to reopen borders to tourists on February 21" Prime Minister Scott Morrison was quoted saying by a media agency. The decision was taken after a key meeting of Australia's national security committee on Sunday. Australian Prime Minister stated on Monday that the country's international borders will reopen to tourists who are double-vaccinated. "I know the tourism industry will be looking forward to that and over the next two weeks they'll get the opportunity both for visitors to be coming and for them to be gearing up to welcome international visitors back to Australia," Morrison said. Earlier, on Sunday, a government minister had informed that the government plans to open the borders to overseas tourists as soon as possible. “We are getting ready to open as soon as we can,” said the home affairs minister Karen Andrews in an interview with ABC TV, adding “We don’t have all the information we need to be able to take the decision, but we are very close.” Also Read | Covid-19: DCGI nod to emergency use of single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine Australia has been gradually reopening its borders after shutting them in March 2020, allowing only its citizens and residents, skilled migrants, international students, and some seasonal workers in. Border restrictions and lockdowns imposed by Covid have had a negative impact on Australia's hospitality industry. According to Tourism Australia, the tourism industry produced over $84.9 billion in annual income prior to the pandemic. The first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020-2021, saw a 41% drop in annual revenue. A significant 5% of Australia's workforce is employed in the industry. Meanwhile, the highly transmissible Omicron variant is spreading in the country. However, hospitalisations and deaths have been stabilising. On February 2, Australia surpassed 50 million coronavirus vaccine doses administered, including more than eight million booster doses, according to Health Minister Greg Hunt. Also Read | Punjab reports 777 new Covid-19 cases, positivity rate at 2.68% -PTC News