MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The Australian government is set to announce new travel restrictions later on Saturday, the country’s Channel 7 broadcaster reported, as the new COVID-19 variant raises concerns about a new wave of the pandemic.
“#7NEWS understands the federal government will today announce changes to travel – in response to new variant,” it said on Twitter on Saturday, without citing sources.
“Anyone who has been in South Africa in the last 14 days will likely face quarantine or isolation.”
The discovery of a new coronavirus variant named Omicron triggered global alarm on Friday as countries rushed to suspend travel from southern Africa and stock markets suffered their biggest falls in more than a year.
(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Sam Holmes)
