Australia’s two main banks force their employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus

Westpac and Commonwealth Banks (CBA), among the four largest in Australia, indicated this Thursday that they will force their employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus covid-19.

The entities argue the measure “in line with continued efforts to protect our staff and clients from the risks associated with the covid-19″ Said a spokesman for the CBAreports the Sydney Morning Herald.

For his part, the executive director of Westpac, Peter King, defended in a statement that “it is important that we have a work environment as safe as possible” after highlighting the continuous work of banking services during the pandemic.

The decision of the two financial institutions, which will affect some 75,000 workers, comes amid divergences around the guidelines to force workers into Australia.

Likewise, large companies such as the canning company SPC, the mining company BHP and the airline Qantas have ordered mandatory vaccination of their employees, while some jurisdictions have also promoted mandatory inoculation measures for some sectors.

Australia seeks to achieve complete vaccination of 70% of the target population to start the reopening of its economy and plans to reopen its borders in stages starting in November.

The oceanic country, which accumulates around 133,000 infections and 1,500 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, has already administered the complete schedule of the covid-19 vaccine to more than 65% of its target population and the first dose to 85 %.

The country still has under quarantine order the city of Melbourne, the second most populated in the country, and the small territory of the capital since August, after lifting the measure on Monday on Sydney.