Australia issued an invitation to backpackers, seeking replacements for a workforce decimated by an Omicron COVID-19 epidemic, as the country’s health system gets tight under the pressure of the pandemic, with more deaths expected in the coming weeks.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a Reuters report on Wednesday that his government will waive the A$630 (US$453) visa application cost for any backpacker or student who lands in Australia during the next 12 weeks, and urged them to look for job while touring the nation.
“Come on down now because you wanted to come to Australia,” Morrison said during a televised press conference.
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“Move all the way around the country, and the same time join our workforce and help us in our agricultural sector, in our hospitality sector, and so many of the other parts of the economy that rely on that labour.”
On Wednesday, Australian officials announced 67 more fatalities and over 80,000 new cases. With 77 deaths from the virus on Tuesday, Australia’s deadliest day, Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly warned Australians can anticipate the pandemic’s total death toll to soar much higher than the current 2,843.
Businesses in Australia are coping with the rising number of employees who are sick or have been instructed to segregate as close contacts. The labor shortfall has resulted in supply shortages, prompting major supermarkets to reintroduce purchasing limitations on basics, and is impeding the country’s recovery.
