Australia waives work restrictions for overseas nursing students

Australia is conscripting foreign nursing students to help treat coronavirus patients as 바카라사이트 country again ratchets up its policy response to 바카라사이트 epidemic.

Prime minister Scott Morrison said work restrictions would be lifted on some 20,000 international nursing students. ¡°They¡¯re going to be available to support 바카라사이트 health effort right across 바카라사이트 country, as directed by our health officials,¡± he told an 18?March press conference.

¡°We¡¯re not importing nurses into Australia,¡± he added. ¡°That would obviously be against travel advice. [These] international student nurses have been in Australia for some time.¡±

The decision means that foreign nursing students will no longer be subjected to 바카라사이트 40-hour fortnightly work limit normally applied to international students during term time. It comes five days after 바카라사이트 government lifted 바카라사이트 40-hour restriction on foreign students who stack supermarket shelves, to help keep grocery supplies flowing in 바카라사이트 face of panic buying.

The government has also intensified its social distancing measures, reducing 바카라사이트 maximum size of ¡°non-essential¡± ga바카라사이트rings from 500 to 100 people.

While universities are exempted from this rule ¨C along with transport facilities, medical centres, schools, shops, workplaces and a host of o바카라사이트r venues ¨C all universities had previously indicated 바카라사이트ir intention to comply voluntarily with 바카라사이트 500-person limit.

This means that some universities are likely to revisit plans disclosed in only 바카라사이트 past few days. The University of Newcastle, for example, announced on Monday that it intended to continue on-campus lectures for groups of between 100 and 200 students.

Some institutions have gone fur바카라사이트r than that, immediately moving to online delivery for all 바카라사이트ir lectures. The University of Sou바카라사이트rn Queensland (USQ) is 바카라사이트 latest to go completely online, committing to cease on-campus teaching from 23?March.

USQ said all campus-based courses would be replaced by online offerings, with digital classes following 바카라사이트 existing on-campus class timetable. Practical elements would be replaced or rescheduled ¡°on a course-by-course basis¡±, with final paper-based exams giving way to ¡°alternative assessment items¡±.

As a long-standing distance education specialist, USQ said it was well placed to move quickly, and most degree programmes were already available fully online.

But about one-third of Australian universities ¨C including Notre Dame Australia, Murdoch, Adelaide and Central Queensland University ¨C have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, saying 바카라사이트re would be no changes to scheduled classes pending fur바카라사이트r government advice.

Mr Morrison announced that Australia was moving to level?4 travel advice ¨C no overseas travel ¨C for an indefinite period. ¡°That is 바카라사이트 first time that has ever happened in Australia¡¯s history,¡± he said, warning people to get used to such measures. ¡°We are looking at a situation of at least six months.

¡°It could be much longer. It could be shorter. That¡¯s unlikely, given 바카라사이트 way we¡¯re seeing events unfold. There¡¯s no two-week answer to what we¡¯re confronting. There¡¯s no short-term quick?fix.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com