The federal government has already stopped flights from nine southern African countries and brought in quarantine requirements from anyone who recently entered Australia from the region. All international arrivals must also self-isolate for 72 hours after landing.
So far,the variant appears to be mild,but Mr Hunt said Australia would go further with health measures or border restrictions if necessary.
“We will not hesitate to take additional steps if the medical evidence is that more are required,” he told reporters on Monday morning.
NSW,Victoria and the ACT are working with the federal government as they review whether to extend the 72 hours of home quarantine that all international arrivals are required to undertake.
“They’re reviewing that,and they’re working with us,” Mr Hunt said on Monday afternoon on 2GB radio.
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“We certainly wouldn’t rule out the fact that that period may be rolled over. And I think it’s important to provide that guidance.
“My understanding is that they’re certainly considering that. They’re doing it in conjunction with Commonwealth officials.”
The number of Omicron variant cases in Australia grew to five on Monday afternoon,aftertwo further cases were confirmed in fully vaccinated travellers who arrived in Sydney from Southern Africa. One case was confirmed in Howard Springs quarantine in the Northern Territory on Monday afternoon,after the first two cases were detected in NSW.
National cabinet is meeting at 4.30pm on Tuesday to discuss the rapidly evolving situation with the new variant and current measures in place to reduce its spread in Australia.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk expressed concern about the number of international arrivals who were not in hotel quarantine and said she would be seeking answers about it in Tuesday’s meeting.
But NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said Australia should not have a “knee-jerk” reaction to the emerging variant.
“We need to open up to the world,we need to do so safely,” he said on Monday morning.
Mr Hunt said national cabinet’s meeting was about ensuring there was “common understanding,common information,and common actions” between the states,territories and the federal government. He noted he has not received any health advice to justify continued state border closures.
“But we have a clear direction – vaccinations up,progressively restrictions down. Those directions remain constant,” he said.
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Half a million Australians who are eligible for a booster shot have not yet had it as the country’s top vaccine experts consider whether to shorten the interval between second and third doses amid concerns about the Omicron variant. Labor’s health spokesman Mark Butler said the government needs to urgently boost vaccination numbers in areas that were lagging behind,particularly Indigenous communities.
“There are still pockets where people are not protected,” Mr Butler said.
The Omicron variant has become the dominant strain in South Africa and led to border closures around the world as cases are detected in Europe,Asia and Australia.
Early information shows the Omicron strain appears to be milder than other variants of the coronavirus,and the first two cases detected in Australia were asymptomatic,but Chief Health Officer Professor Paul Kelly said there have been too few cases globally to know that for certain.
“Some reports out of South Africa are it’s mostly mild,other information we have is the hospitalisation rates are increasing. So we need to get further information there,” he said.
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