Epidemiologists are increasingly concerned about the spread of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants and are calling for a fourth COVID-19 booster vaccine to be approved for the entire adult population in a matter of months. Australia is close to 10,000 dead.
Australia closed its borders due to the pandemic on March 20, 2020 and only began to reopen from November 1, 2021, which meant that many citizens and permanent residents were blocked out. of the country for months or even years due to strict entry limits. and harsh conditions on who could enter.
Even after the border was opened to citizens, permanent residents and some students, some visa holders, including tourists, were unable to visit from abroad until the opening of the border was extended on 21 February 2022. Tough rules caused tennis star Novak Djokovic to be deported. in January before the Australian Open because he was not vaccinated.
Once restrictions on who could enter the country were removed, a double vaccination requirement was maintained under the Biosafety Act.
Butler said on Sunday that no advice had been presented to Australian health ministers to reinstate mask mandates to deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases and urged the six million Australians to they had not had their reinforcement to do so as soon as possible.
Loading
“It is evident that we expect an increase of cases during the next months with the increase of the prevalence of the subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 of the variant Omicron. We are clear about that, ”he said.
“It is quite clear that the number of cases is expected to increase in the coming months, there is pressure on our hospitals with more than 3,000 people hospitalized today with COVID and we are still seeing around 300 or more deaths each week with COVID “We haven’t been through this virus yet.”
On Thursday, Butler ordered a quick consultation on vaccine supplies to Australia’s COVID-19 vaccines, future stroke variants and how Australia’s deployment had fallen short at the height of the pandemic.
Cut the noise of federal politics with Jacqueline Maley’s news, opinions, and expert analysis. Subscribers can subscribe to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.