Sydney (Australia), Jan 18 (EFE) .- Australia is committed to keeping its borders closed for most of 2021, even if the majority of its population of 25 million people is vaccinated in the coming months, they said this Monday official sources of the oceanic country.
‘I think we will have most of this year significant restrictions on the borders, even if the majority of the population is vaccinated. We do not know if (the vaccine) will prevent the transmission of the virus, ‘Brendan Murphy, secretary of the Ministry of Health, told ABC.
About 75 percent of Australians, who will begin their covid-19 vaccination program in mid-February, intend to be immunized against the coronavirus, according to a survey last month by consultancy Roy Morgan.
On the other hand, Australian authorities, who have proven their effectiveness in contact tracing, are trying to determine the degree of safety of vaccines after reporting in Norway the death of thirty elderly people, who had underlying health problems, after receiving Pfizer’s.
STRICT QUARANTINS
The former medical chief of the Australian government – a country that fears new infections with highly contagious strains such as those detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil – explained that the strict quarantine program for international travelers “will continue for some time.”
Australia has kept its international borders closed since March 2020 and only allows the entry of its residents and citizens, some of their closest relatives, diplomats and other exceptions.
This weekend the Australian authorities announced that they will enable 20 charter flights to repatriate part of the more than 30,000 residents and citizens of their country stranded abroad, after the Emirates airline announced that it will suspend its flights to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Anyone entering the country has to undergo a mandatory 14-day confinement, as happens to tennis players who will participate in the Australian Open, scheduled in the city of Melbourne between February 8 and 21.
Of this group, a total of 72 tennis players have been placed in a stricter quarantine, which prevents them from training for five hours, after nine cases of Covid-19 were detected on three of the charter flights on which they traveled.
Australia, which this Monday reported zero local covid-19 infections, accumulates more than 28,700 infections, including 909 deaths, most of them produced during the second wave caused by a failure in the quarantines of international travelers hotels in Melbourne , the second most populated city in the country. EFE
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