Australia To Reopen Its Borders On February 21, PM Scott Morrison Announces

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison on Monday announced that it will reopen its borders to fully vaccinated tourists starting February 21. The announcement marks the end of one of the world’s strictest and longest-running travel restrictions imposed since the onset of the pandemic.

“It’s almost two years since we took the decision to close the borders to Australia. Australia will reopen our borders to all remaining visa holders on February 21 of this year,” Morrison was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. “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,” he further added according to a report by Australian news agency Sydney Morning Herald.

Australia shut down its borders in March 2020 after the pandemic hit and allowed only a handful of exemptions, allowing some to depart and arrive. Barring those, no Australians were allowed to leave. The latest announcement means that almost all caps on entering Australia will be lifted. Earlier, relaxations were allowed on a case-to-case basis for Australian nationals, long-term residents and students. 

The strict rules imposed by the Morrison-led government stranded Australian citizens abroad, split families and also led to huge losses to Australia’s tourism sector. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry pegged the losses at $2.6 billion per month. 

The tourism sector, one of the sectors directly impacted by the pandemic across the globe, of Australia has welcomed the latest directive issued by the government asking people all over the world to come and visit. Quicksilver Group’s managing director Tony Walker told news agency AFP that it downsized its operations and reduced staff size to 300 from 650 due to the pandemic.

“We’re very excited about being able to reopen. The last couple of years have been incredibly difficult for us. It will take some time to recover from the past two years,” Walker was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.

According to Sydney Morning Herald, stock markets in Australia saw travel stocks surge as news of reopening hit investors. Only Japan, New Zealand, China and a handful of island nations in the Pacific continue to impose a travel ban.

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