Once a near COVID-free utopia, Australia sees omicron surge

By KRISTEN GELINEAU
Associated Press

SYDNEY (AP) — The omicron variant of the coronavirus has swept across Australia despite its high vaccination rate and strict border policies that kept the country largely sealed off from the world for almost two years. Those measures turned Australia into a virtually COVID-19-free utopia at the start of the pandemic. But they have garnered fresh scrutiny as the government has battled to deport unvaccinated tennis star Novak Djokovic. And they have prompted questions from frustrated and fatigued Australians about why their country now finds itself infested with the virus despite doing so much to keep it out. In recent months, the government has pivoted from its longstanding COVID-zero approach to a “live with it” approach, leaving many Australians confused.