Australia to allow fully vaccinated eligible visa holders

Some Australians continue to protest against Covid-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates as seen here in Sydney on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Australia on Monday further relaxed its travel rules as it allows fully vaccinated eligible visa holders to enter the country without the need to apply for a travel exemption from December 1. Eligible visa holders include skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holidaymakers and provisional family visa holders. The additional changes have been announced as part of the National plan to safely reopen Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, "From 1 December 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders can come to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption. Eligible visa holders include skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holidaymaker and provisional family visa holders." He said the changes will ensure that "we continue to protect health of Australians while reuniting families and securing our economic recovery by opening our border to skilled and student visa holders".

NZ tries new virus tack

Bars, restaurants and gyms can reopen in Auckland from early December but customers will have to show proof they've been fully vaccinated, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday. This removes the last remnants of a lockdown that began in the nation's largest city in August. It also signals a new phase in New Zealand's response to the pandemic, in which people will need to be fully vaccinated to do anything from getting a haircut to watching a concert.

Get vaccinated or get Covid

Germany's health minister said Monday that the rapid rise in coronavirus cases means it's likely everyone in the country who isn't vaccinated will have caught COVID-19 by the end of the winter, and some of those will die. Official figures Monday showed more than 30,000 new cases over past 24 hours, an increase of about 50 per cent compared to one week ago. Health Minister Jens Spahn urged Germans to get vaccinated, including with booster shots if their first round of inoculation occurred more than six months ago, to reduce risk of serious illness. "By the end of this winter pretty much everyone in Germany (...) will have been vaccinated, recovered or died," Spahn told reporters in Berlin.

1,96,575
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

25,66,37,065
Total no. of cases worldwide

51,48,221
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

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