Canberra, Jan 22 (TIWN) Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday declared that the country has successfully has beaten a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the meeting he told reporters that "we have beaten the third wave" that began with an infection clusters in Sydney.  Despite the good new, he said thatthe cap on international arrivals to Australia would not be lifted until February 15.  Arrivals to New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland were halved earlier in January in response to the threat of the mutant Covid-19 strain.  As of Friday, Australia had recorded zero new cases of community transmission for five days.  "There is the opportunity for me to engage with individual states and territories on a bilateral basis if we can create additional capacity," Morrison said.