Australia, largely free of COVID-19, in no hurry to reopen borders - PM

"Australia is not in any hurry to open those borders, I assure you," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said during a televised press conference.


"I will not jeopardize the way we live in this country, which is so different from the rest of the world today."


Except for a few brief lockdowns, Australians have been able to dine out, gather freely, and stop wearing face masks in most places for months.


They swapped international trips for domestic ones, with government figures showing significant annual increases in intra-state travel in the first months of 2021.


"Australia is not in any hurry to open those borders, I assure you," Morrison said during a televised press conference.


"I will not jeopardize the way we live in this country, which is so different from the rest of the world today."

Except for a few brief lockdowns, Australians have been able to dine out, gather freely, and stop wearing face masks in most places for months.


They swapped international trips for domestic ones, with government figures showing significant annual increases in intra-state travel in the first months of 2021.


Following advice that people under the age of 50 take Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine rather than AstraZeneca's shot, Australia recently abandoned a goal of vaccinating nearly all of its 26 million population by the end of 2021.


Read next:  Washington confirms 'breakthrough' COVID-19 cases after vaccination

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