Australia Eyes Vaccination Entry Requirement

Australia will likely require international arrivals to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face a prolonged quarantine, as officials sketch out what "new normal" virus restrictions may look like

Sydney, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Nov, 2020 ) :Australia will likely require international arrivals to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face a prolonged quarantine, as officials sketch out what "new normal" virus restrictions may look like.

Although "no final decision" had been made on how to proceed when a vaccine becomes available, Australia's Health Minister Greg Hunt suggested Tuesday that a vaccination or a strict two-week quarantine would be a condition for entry.

The comments came as Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said international travellers would need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to fly with the Australian flag carrier.

"We are looking at changing our terms and conditions to say for international travellers that we will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft," he told Channel Nine television.

"Whether you need that domestically, we will have to see what happens." Health minister Hunt said: "We would expect that people coming to Australia whilst Covid-19 is a significant disease in the world will either be vaccinated or they will isolate.

" For eight months, Australia has had virtually closed off from the rest of the world, with a blanket ban on non-residents entering the country and citizens strongly advised against all foreign travel.

But with promising results in vaccine trials, Hunt suggested Australians may start receiving doses as early as March.

Joyce predicted the airline rule would likely become standard practice around the world.

Other major regional airlines, however, said it was too early to comment on what travel requirements might be when a vaccine becomes widely available.

"We don't have any concrete plans to announce at this point on the vaccine as it is still in development and will take time to distribute," a Korean Air representative told AFP.

Japan Airlines similarly said it had "no plans to require international travellers to have a vaccination".