Aussies will be FREE to travel overseas as major country opens its borders for Australians
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Aussies will be FREE to travel overseas as major country opens its borders for Australians
Fully vaccinated Australians will be free to travel to Singapore without the need to apply for an exemption to leave the country, thanks to the quarantine-free bubble agreement with the south-east Asian country.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt gave the go signal to vaccinated travellers to fly out starting next Monday, November 1.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt gave the go signal to vaccinated Aussies to fly out to Singapore starting November 1, following the quarantine-free bubble agreement with the south-east Asian country. Credit: Getty Images.
Once they arrive, the travellers will need to undergo another test and will need to isolate until given a negative result.
Further, children under 12 don't need to be vaccinated while infants, those who are under the age of two, will not be required to get tested.
The new changes to international travel mean that Aussies can now freely travel without having the need to apply for an exemption from the Department of Home Affairs, a first since the travel ban was implemented in March 2020, following the first outbreak of COVID-19.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed the change on Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
'Over half a million Australians have already been able to download the international vaccination certificate,' the PM said.
'We are getting very close now to a reciprocal arrangement with Singapore.
'The national plan is working. The national plan is about opening Australia up and that is because the vaccination rates are climbing so high.'
Aside from Singapore, another ASEAN country has reportedly been in talks about a quarantine-free bubble with Australia.
Tourism Minister Dan Tehan confirmed that Indonesian and Australian officials are working on plans regarding the re-opening of travel between the two nations, as COVID-19 cases in the south-east Asian country continue to fall.
'The Covid situation on the ground in Bali is continuing to improve,' the minister said during a question-and-answer discussion with Newscorp on Monday.
'It's obviously an incredibly popular destination for Australians in particular, and tourism is such a huge part of the Balinese economy so we will continue to have discussions.'
Indonesia is also being tapped to re-open borders for Australian travellers. Credit: Instagram/@girlcoupleonthemove.
'We're going to put something in place for Singaporeans in the next couple of weeks and my hope would be we could then look at Japan, South Korea and Bali as the next step in that direction,' he said.
'I think there's a real pent-up demand for people to travel again.'
Major airlines like Jetstar and Qantas are now offering cheap flights to international holiday destinations like Hawaii, Japan, Singapore, Bali, New Zealand, Fiji, and Thailand, following the lifting of travel exemptions.
In fact, Jetstar's 2022 international sale includes a promo for Aussies flying from Sydney to Honolulu. The one-way ticket will be available for $258 between April and May 2022.
Business flights from Sydney to Phuket start at just $499 for travel between January and March. Meanwhile, flights to Queenstown start from $189 and airfares to Tokyo will be at $288 minimum.
One-way flights to summer destinations such as Fiji and Bali will only cost $199 and $159 respectively.
Australia is also expected to allow quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated international tourists before Christmas.
The government of South Australia said that they will scrap isolation requirements for vaccinated overseas and domestic travellers when the state reaches 90 per cent immunisation coverage.
SA Premier Steven Marshall, said that they are expecting to achieve this milestone before Christmas, weeks after they open state borders on November 23.
Meanwhile, vaccinated overseas tourists who will arrive in Melbourne and Sydney do not need to quarantine starting Monday, according to the governments of Victoria and NSW.
Tasmania, on the other hand, is set to open borders to international and domestic travellers on December 15.
All travellers will be required to test negative for COVID.
However, with all of the states announcements to re-open borders for travel, West Australia is likely to remain shut to international countries, as well as Australian states, and territories until next year.
Aussies stranded in other countries are expected to be the first to benefit from the new international travel arrangements.
The country is on track to be one of the countries with the highest vaccination rate, with more than 74 per cent of over-18s now fully vaccinated while about 87 per cent have been jabbed with at least one dose.
The vaccine rollout is expected to soon include booster shots for the general public.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Technical Advisory Group (TGA) on immunisation met with the Health Minister on Monday.
According to Minister Hunt, the decision on third jabs for the wider population is about to be made.
'Over the next coming days, I expect to receive the final advice of the TGA on the booster program,' he told parliament on Tuesday.
'As we go forward, we continue to save lives and protect lives.'
The priority list for third jabs will include people with severely compromised immune systems, aged care residents, and older Aussies.
So far, all states and territories have passed the 60 per cent two-dose coverage.
In fact, Jetstar's 2022 international sale includes a promo for Aussies flying from Sydney to Honolulu. The one-way ticket will be available for $258 between April and May 2022.
Business flights from Sydney to Phuket start at just $499 for travel between January and March. Meanwhile, flights to Queenstown start from $189 and airfares to Tokyo will be at $288 minimum.
One-way flights to summer destinations such as Fiji and Bali will only cost $199 and $159 respectively.
Australia is also expected to allow quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated international tourists before Christmas.
The government of South Australia said that they will scrap isolation requirements for vaccinated overseas and domestic travellers when the state reaches 90 per cent immunisation coverage.
SA Premier Steven Marshall, said that they are expecting to achieve this milestone before Christmas, weeks after they open state borders on November 23.
Meanwhile, vaccinated overseas tourists who will arrive in Melbourne and Sydney do not need to quarantine starting Monday, according to the governments of Victoria and NSW.
Tasmania, on the other hand, is set to open borders to international and domestic travellers on December 15.
All travellers will be required to test negative for COVID.
However, with all of the states announcements to re-open borders for travel, West Australia is likely to remain shut to international countries, as well as Australian states, and territories until next year.
Aussies stranded in other countries are expected to be the first to benefit from the new international travel arrangements.
The country is on track to be one of the countries with the highest vaccination rate, with more than 74 per cent of over-18s now fully vaccinated while about 87 per cent have been jabbed with at least one dose.
The vaccine rollout is expected to soon include booster shots for the general public.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Technical Advisory Group (TGA) on immunisation met with the Health Minister on Monday.
According to Minister Hunt, the decision on third jabs for the wider population is about to be made.
'Over the next coming days, I expect to receive the final advice of the TGA on the booster program,' he told parliament on Tuesday.
'As we go forward, we continue to save lives and protect lives.'
The priority list for third jabs will include people with severely compromised immune systems, aged care residents, and older Aussies.
So far, all states and territories have passed the 60 per cent two-dose coverage.
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in my own little 40 acres.
Brain is clearly still asleep
