Australian travel abroad coming soon with 7-day home quarantine

A news release issued today says Australian citizens will soon be able to travel and return home with just a 7-day quarantine period. The Australian Consul-General for Phuket says this is great news for Australia and for Thailand. He notes that Australians can now travel abroad knowing that they will be able to return home again and vows to Phuket that the Australians will be back soon.

The full release outlines Australia’s plans to safely reopen international borders for the next few months. 55% of the country has been fully vaccinated now with some areas expected to hit 70% next week, so the country feels it’s ready to allow Australians to safely return home and for workers and families to travel in and out of Australia.

They look ahead to when tourism can fully reopen in Australia, but the ability for Australians to travel abroad will come much sooner. Phase C of the National Plan will allow this travel for fully vaccinated Australian travellers.

For anyone not vaccinated with one of the vaccines approve or recognized in Australia – currently Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson – a 14-day manage quarantine will be required. Any Australian citizen or permanent resident with an approved vaccine will only face a 7-Day quarantine at home. Those who are unable to be vaccinated children under 12 or those with the medical condition will have vaccination requirements waived.

Phase C will be launched state by state so the exact dates may vary but the rollout is expected to begin next month. The government touts the plan as a balance between minimizing Covid-19 risks and learning to live with the virus.

Australian officials say that their citizens cannot enter or leave without restriction and they’re working towards quarantine free travel for some countries like New Zealand. Rapid antigen test will likely be used as Covid-19 testing will be required for travellers.

The plan also makes arrangements for proof of vaccination, making internationally recognised documentation available in the next few weeks for those vaccinated in Australia, as well as allowing Australian citizens vaccinated and fraud within approved or recognize vaccine to submit their documents to their local doctor or pharmacist to be added to the Australian Immunisation Register.

For Australians that have been vaccinated here in Thailand, it should be noted that an initial assessment of the Sinovac vaccine has been published advising that it be added to the recognized vaccine list for incoming international travellers.

SOURCE: The Phuket News