Australia Lifts Cruise Ship Ban Starting Next Month, After Two-year Shutdown

JAKARTA - Australia announced it will lift its entry ban on international cruise ships next month, effectively ending all COVID-19-related travel bans after two years, boosting the tourism industry hard-hit by pandemic restrictions.

Kangaroo Country banned entry to cruise ships in March 2020, when they were the source of about 20 per cent of Australia's initial coronavirus infections. The ships became a flashpoint in the pandemic response, after symptomatic passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney, many of whom later tested positive.

The federal government said it would not renew the current ban after April 17, as the country began living with the coronavirus after achieving higher vaccination rates. Last month, Australia fully reopened its airports to vaccinated international travelers.

Prior to the pandemic, Australia welcomed more than 600,000 cruise ship passengers across its ports, from nearly 350 ships in 2019, according to official data, a major source of revenue for the country's A$60 billion tourism industry.

"I can't wait to see our cruise terminal once again fill with international passengers arriving, getting into the shape of this important industrial ship and getting back on the water once again," Home Secretary Karen Andrews said in a statement. .

Further easing in restrictions comes amid threats from the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of the Omicron strain of coronavirus, which authorities have warned could double daily infections in the next four to six weeks.

Under the new policy, passengers will need to be double vaccinated and entry will depend on the readiness of individual states and territories to receive cruises at ports within their jurisdiction, Kyodo News reported.

The decision to allow international cruise ships to return to Australia comes about a month after its borders reopened to fully vaccinated tourists.

To note, despite calls from health experts to reimpose some restrictions, including making masks mandatory in indoor places, Prime Minister Scott Morrison over the weekend said the country was prepared to live with COVID-19 as if it were the flu. normal.