ENTERING RECOVERY PHASE
Australia rolled out vaccinations amidst souring China relations.
UPDATES
- Currently, the nation’s biggest concern is the new UK strain of the coronavirus. Like New Zealand’s largest city, Victoria entered a snap lockdown in response to a new cluster in Melbourne.
- On 22 February, Australia began its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. 60,000 shots of the Pfizer-Biotech vaccine were administered to frontline healthcare workers and geriatrics. Canberra aims to secure all 25 million Australians by October 2021.
- Meanwhile, China has also blocked imports of several Australian foods. The restrictions are due to worsening trade relations, as opposed to food safety concerns. Canberra requested an independent probe into the spread of COVID-19. China responded with “disruptions to trade flows” on some Australian foods, including barley, beef and wine.