Australia announced on Friday another drastic reduction in the number of people allowed to enter the country as authorities try to contain outbreaks by confining some major cities in the country.
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As nearly half of the population of the huge island continent is subject to containment measures, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that the number of travelers able to travel to Australia will be halved.
With the country set a goal of having no cases of Covid-19 on its soil, only 6,000 people are allowed to land on commercial flights in Australia every week.
They are then subjected to a mandatory two-week quarantine at the hotel.
Quota of 3000 people by mid-July
This quota will increase to around 3,000 people by mid-July, said Scott Morrison. The head of government made the announcement while more and more residents do not hide their exasperation at the restriction measures, the flaws in the quarantine systems and the slowness of the vaccination campaign. More than 18 months after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, less than 8% of Australia's adult population has received two doses of the vaccine. “
It's a difficult time for people facing the restrictions,
” admitted Scott Morrison.
As of Friday, residents of the cities of Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, a total of ten million people, were still confined after the outbreak of outbreaks.
On Thursday, 27 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded across the country.
Flash containment measures taken in Alice Springs, Darwin and Gold Coast in Queensland are gradually being lifted but clusters continue to grow, especially in Sydney.
Policy change
In an attempt to allay anger over the harsh border measures, Scott Morrison has announced a policy change. He thus indicated that his government will soon adopt vaccination targets which, once achieved, will allow the gradual opening of borders and a return to normal life. The head of government said that at first, the borders would open to Australians and then to vaccinated foreign travelers, who could also be subject to reduced quarantine measures. “
If you get vaccinated, you change the way we live as a country, you change the way you live in Australia,
” said Scott Morrison. Before the start of the pandemic, around 260,000 travelers landed in Australia every week.
