A special meeting of national cabinet will be convened on Friday to discuss stronger protections against a highly infectious strain of the virus being carried by international travellers, and in particular those from the United Kingdom.

Mr Morrison said premiers and chief ministers would consider a proposal he requested through Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly.

"The proposal is to further strengthen the COVID safety of end-to-end international travel processes (from arrival at Airport of embarkation in the exit country, to final clearance from hotel quarantine in Australia)," he said.

The federal government has come under pressure to only allow international travellers who have tested negative for COVID-19 before flying. There has also been talk of banning travellers from Britain, where a highly virulent strain of the virus has led to 50,000 infections a day and a third national lockdown.

The announcement came shortly after the Prime Minister was forced to back down on claims about COVID-19 vaccine safety tests in Britain.

Mr Morrison on Tuesday claimed the UK was not testing batches of vaccines before they were being distributed because the country was battling a major outbreak of up to 50,000 new cases a day.

"Australia is not in an emergency situation like the United Kingdom," Mr Morrison said. "We don't have to cut corners."

Read the full story here: