Australia reopens borders to vaccinated tourists

The world is now slowly limping back to normalcy amid the threat of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. According to the World Health Organisation, the number of new coronavirus cases globally fell by 19 per cent in the last two weeks while the number of deaths remained stable. However, World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that current conditions are ideal for the emergence of more transmissible and more dangerous variants of coronavirus but it will end "as a global health emergency this year."

Australia on Monday fully reopened its international borders to travellers vaccinated against the Covid-19 nearly two years after pandemic-related closings, as tourists returned and hundreds of people were reunited with family and friends. More than 50 international flights will reach the country throughout the day, including 27 touching down in Sydney, its largest city. Australia's outbreak of the Omicron variant appears to have passed its peak with hospital admissions steadily falling over the past three weeks. The bulk of Australia's pandemic total of about 2.7 million confirmed cases has been detected since the emergence of Omicron in late November. Total deaths stood at 4,929.

Israel will begin allowing entry to all tourists, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, from March 1, a statement from the prime minister’s office said on Sunday. Entry into Israel will still require two PCR tests, one before flying in and one upon landing in Israel, the statement said. Currently, only Covid-19 vaccinated foreigners are allowed into Israel. Israel first shut its borders to foreigners in March 2020. The number of visitors has slowly risen as the country lifted some restrictions, but they remain well below pre-pandemic levels.

Average daily Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations are continuing to fall in the US, an indicator that the Omicron variant’s hold is weakening across the country. Total confirmed cases reported on Saturday barely exceeded 100,000, a sharp downturn from around 800,850 five weeks ago on January 16, according to Johns Hopkins University data. In New York, the number of cases went down by more than 50 per cent over the last two weeks. Covid-19 hospitalisations are down from a national seven-day average of 146,534 on January 20 to 80,185 the week ending in February 13, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Covid data tracker.