Lauren Moye, FISM NEWS
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Wednesday, Australia opened its borders for the first time in nearly two years to vaccinated skilled migrants and foreign students.
The nation’s borders were originally supposed to open earlier in December. However, officials voted to delay this date by two weeks due to concerns over the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. As Omicron has shown to be mild in official data, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the new border reopening date on Wednesday.
Australia is known for its rigid, some have argued authoritarian, measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including strict quarantine measures that have sparked massive protests from citizens desiring a return to greater freedom. The country has also kept national borders locked tight as part of its strategy to counter the coronavirus pandemic. Foreign students and skilled migrant workers have not been allowed entry since March 2020.
“We’re going to live with this virus, and we’re not going to let it drag us back to where we’ve been,” Morrison stated during a radio broadcast. “We’ve got one of the highest vaccination rates, which means we can fight this thing. We don’t have to surrender to it.”
Australia has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world. A Nov. 11 tweet from the prime minister shows that 9-of-10 citizens over the age of 16 have received the initial vaccination dose:
Simply outstanding, Australia! We’ve now hit 90% first dose!
Thank you to each and every one of you who has had their jab. Not only are you protecting yourself and your loved ones, but you’re helping Australia to reopen safely and stay safely open. pic.twitter.com/k1tYxddmTs
— Scott Morrison (@ScoMo30) November 12, 2021
The return of foreign students is a much-needed boost to an economy struggling to recover. Foreign students are worth $35 billion in Australian dollars ($25 billion U.S.) and official data showed that 160,000 students held visas to the country at the end of October.
The nation’s education system is built heavily on foreign students, who comprise nearly 21% of college enrollments. Australia’s higher education sector has suffered heavily under the lockdown with facilities having to lay off hundreds of staff members.
There are concerns that recent spikes in infections might cause Australia to reconsider its strategy. One of the more populous states, New South Wales, saw its highest one-day rise in the past three months with 1,360 new COVID cases. The region’s minister for health, Brad Hazzard, has warned that New South Wales might see new daily cases rise to 25,000 by the end of January.
However, some of the students have already paused their career goals and personal plans for nearly two years. A recent New York Times article shows that many of these students are reaching the end of their patience with living life on hold indefinitely during the pandemic, and Australia risks losing some of its anticipated economic boost if it delays reopening again.
One student, Janees Abbas of Pakistan, booked his flight into the country for what he views as a narrow window of opportunity to make it into the country. He told the New York Times, “Let’s say they open on Dec. 15, and they close after a week and I’ve booked a flight in January. I’ll have the regret that I didn’t try my level best to go to Australia.”
The New York Times reported that other students, like Dhanashree Marge, plan to withdraw if Australia backtracks on the Dec. 15 opening again. “It’s been two years. I cannot wait any more,” she said.