Australia reports over 2M COVID-19 cases in 40 days amid omicron spread

By Islamuddin Sajid

ANKARA (AA) – Australia reported over 2 million COVID-19 cases in 40 days after the omicron variant hit the country in November last year, the country’s Health Ministry said.

According to the ministry’s data released on Thursday, so far the country has registered over 2.48 million cases with 4,479 deaths.

Out of these infections and fatalities, over 2.09 million cases and 2,240 deaths have been recorded since Jan. 1, which showed how quickly the new variant spread across the country.

On Dec. 31, Australia’s total COVID-19 caseload was 395,504 with 2,239 fatalities.

On Thursday, an Australian National Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said the peak of the omicron wave has passed and they are gradually moving to end the COVID-19 restrictions.

“National Cabinet noted the epidemiological advice that the peak of the omicron wave has passed, with significant falls in the number of cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions across most states and territories,” an official statement issued from the Prime Minister’s Office said.

On Monday, Australia announced reopening its borders for fully vaccinated tourists from Feb. 21.

Morrison said the country will reopen to all fully vaccinated visa holders, welcoming the return of tourists, business travelers, and other visitors.

“These changes will ensure we protect the health of Australians, while we continue to secure our economic recovery,” he said.

However, those visa holders who are not fully vaccinated will need to apply for travel exemption and if the government approves their request to enter Australia, they will have to quarantine.

Morrison said that the new decision to reopen borders for tourists would boost tourism.

In 2018-19, Australia generated over $60 billion with more than 660,000 jobs. However, the COVID-19 outbreak hit the tourism industry as Australia remained among the countries which strictly closed its borders for travelers from abroad until November of last year.

Australia has so far fully vaccinated 93.9% of its people aged 16 and above while 95% of people have had at least one dose, according to the Health Ministry.