Guwahati News Desk: Australia plans to reopen its international border from November, giving long-awaited freedoms to vaccinated citizens and their relatives.
The announcement was made by PM Scott Morrison in a press briefing on Friday.
Morrison said, “It’s time to give Australians their lives back.”
The PM also informed that the people would be eligible to travel only when their state’s vaccination rate hits 80 per cent.
Although travel would not immediately be open to foreigners, but the Australian government said it was working “towards welcoming tourists back to our shores”.
Since March 2020, Australia has had some of the world’s strictest border rules, even banning its own people from leaving the country. The policy has been praised for helping to suppress Covid, but it has also controversially separated families.
However, in the current circumstances, the people are being allowed to leave Australia, only for extremely essential work or for visiting a dying relative. In addition, entry is permitted for citizens and others with exemptions, but there are tight caps on arrival numbers. This has left tens of thousands stranded overseas.
Moreover, as stated by PM Morrison, Australia’s mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine, which costs each traveller A$3,000 (£1,600; $2,100), would be replaced by seven days of home quarantine for vaccinated Australians or for permanent residents. The unvaccinated travellers must still quarantine for 14 days in hotels.
Meanwhile, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra are still in lockdown due to outbreaks of the virus. Hence, the Australians who are trapped in the UK New South Wales, which includes Sydney, is on track to be first state to cross the 80 per cent threshold, in a few weeks.
However, the states such as Queensland and Western Australia have threatened to keep their borders closed until vaccine rates are even higher. These states have managed to maintain Covid rates at or near zero, after shutting their borders to states with infections.
Furthermore, Morrison’s recent announcement is a hugely anticipated one for thousands of Australians, both here and overseas. It is an emotional moment for many, as after nearly two years of isolation, they will finally be allowed to meet their near and dear ones.
