Queensland, Australia
Australian PM Scott Morrison has said the government will follow advice of health experts when questioned about the subject of reopening international borders. The PM’s comments comes a day after Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy said ‘Australia could be shut for most of 2021’.
“I think we will go most of this year with still substantial border restrictions”, Murphy said on ABC New Breakfast on Monday, January 18.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack were asked about the situation:
“The decisions we’ve taken around international borders, all of it has been based on the information and advice that has come through. And the same will be true when we make decisions over the course of this year, particularly when we get to the other side of vaccines having been introduced in Australia, about what will happen with international borders. At the moment, that is the secretary of health’s assessment. With he see how things play out over the course of the year”, PM Morrison said.
Australia has managed the coronavirus situation better than many other nations. It closed its international borders in March, 2020, and places all incoming arrivals, mostly returning permanent residents and citizens on strict 14 day quarantine programs. The country is preparing to launch its vaccination programs from February, a month earlier than previously planned.
However, according to Murphy, “even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don’t know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus, and it is likely that quarantine will continue for some time”.
