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Omicron in Australia – what it means for the island nation
Two international travellers in New South Wales, Australia have tested positive to the new Omicron Covid variant, making these the first confirmed cases in the island nation
The two travellers followed an urgent round of testing by New South Wales Health on Sunday with the individuals arriving from southern Africa.
They had travelled on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha, are both fully vaccinated and asymptomatic and currently in isolation in special health accommodation.
This comes as authorities concede it will be virtually “impossible” to prevent the new variant from entering Australia.
New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet warns it is “inevitable” that new variants will enter Australia.
He says “the clear point is that this clearly demonstrates the pandemic is not over, there are limits to what the state and federal government can do”.
This comes as Queensland authorities refuse to guarantee the state’s borders would fully reopen in December as planned, saying they’ll make that decision when there’s more evidence available.