A media statement from the Australian Prime Minister’s office on January 8, says the country has done well on the health front during the pandemic.
Australia has seen only 28 571 confirmed cases, of whom 909 have died and 41 people are currently in hospital. More than 11,8m tests have been undertaken.
Now, in view of new COVID-19 variants and surges across the globe, the Cabinet has agreed to additional measures to strengthen end-to-end protection of Australians from COVID-19, including the new variants.
International passenger caps in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia will be temporarily halved on January 15, to allow it to manage the flow of returning Australians and other travellers who have potentially been exposed to the new variants.
The current international passenger caps in Victoria and South Australia and the arrangements in the Northern Territory are considered manageable and will remain in place.
The new halved international passenger caps will be reviewed by National Cabinet early in February.
