Unvaccinated travellers will still need to apply for an exemption to enter or leave Australia as the Australian government declares an extension of its COVID-19 emergency health powers until April 17. Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed in a statement that a further extension of the emergency period, which has been in place for two years since March 18, 2020, was required due to the ongoing global outbreak of the Omicron variant. “Whilst the peak of the Omicron wave has largely passed, the health advice is that this is an appropriate response while the Australian Government continues to develop and implement management strategies to mitigate the impacts of Omicron,” Hunt said. The advice to extend the “human biosecurity emergency period” came from specialist medical and epidemiological advice of an expert medical team, comprising of the state chief health officers and the chief medical officer, Paul Kelly. The extension means the five …