Australia to reopen international borders after almost 2 years

Australia will reopen its borders to fully vaccinated tourists from February 21, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Monday.

"It's almost two years since we took the decision to close the borders to Australia," Morrison said after a meeting of the national security cabinet.

"If you're double vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back to Australia," Morrison added.

Australia imposed some of the world's toughest COVID restrictions since the pandemi began, with the country shutting borders down to visitors and barring Australians to leave since March 2020. 

But the rules took a toll on Australians who were separated from family, battered the tourism industry, and prompted acrimonious debates over the government's handling of the pandemic.

Slowly, the government relaxed some of the rules, allowing some people, like Australian citizens, international students and skilled migrants to enter the country from November 2021. 

The latest decision will see most restrictions lifted and comes after the country abandoned its long-standing zero-COVID policy. The Morrison government instead opted for a 'push through' strategy, ruling out government lockdowns and strict restrictions ahead of federal elections due before May.

Australia recorded 2.4 million cases since the first case of omicron was detected last November. It's once stellar track-and-trace system collapsed under the new wave of cases. Infections did slow last week, with just over 23,000 new infections recorded on Monday, far lower than 150,000 cases recorded around a month ago. 

The number of COVID-related deaths in Australia stands at 4,248 since the pandemic began.