Australia has announced it is to halve the number of people it will allow to enter certain parts of the country until at least 15 February 2021 as a result of the new, more infectious variants of Covid-19.
The country’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, said, “International passenger caps in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia will be temporarily halved from no later than 15 January 2021 to manage the flow of returning Australians and other travellers who have been potentially exposed to the new variants.
"Current international passenger caps in Victoria and South Australia and arrangements in the Northern Territory are considered manageable and will remain in place."
He said that returning Australians and other travellers to Australia must return a negative Covid-19 test prior to departure for the country.
The measures will be reviewed in early February.