Aussie PM rules out mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy

On Aug 8, 2021

AUSTRALIA: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out COVID-19 vaccinations at a federal policy level, asking employers to make their own decisions in terms of enforcing jabs for high-risk workers.

Morrison said on Friday that employers may wish to enforce a “reasonable directive” that staff must be vaccinated against COVID-19 but that it must be “consistent with the law”, Xinhua news agency reported.

Morrison said that there were some situations where employers could mandate vaccines but that the government would not introduce laws for wider mandates.

Meanehile, as Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak continues to escalate, breaches into neighbouring states and regions have forced some 16 million people along Australia’s densely populated eastern coast into lockdown.

Australians are under lockdown orders. According to Government data, 13,270,296 vaccine doses have been administered across the nation as of Friday.

The state of Victoria and some regional areas in New South Wales (NSW) are the latest ones joining the ongoing lockdown gripping both Greater Sydney and its surrounding areas, as well as parts of Queensland, reports Xinhua news agency.

With these new restrictions that took effect on Thursday evening, an estimated 60 percent of all

– THE STATESMAN