Domestic riots over reopening in Australia

At the national level, they want to open up, while the leaders of those parts of the country that are not infected with infection want to persist in closed borders – between states and other countries.

Finance Minister Josh Frydenberg said: “We could end up in a ridiculous situation where someone in NSW could travel to Canada before they could go to Cairns, or someone in Victoria could travel to Singapore or Bali before they could go to Cairns. Going to Perth. The two are about differences.between being able to cross internal and external borders.

get vaccinated

Strict border controls, extensive testing and strict restrictions have helped Australia keep the spread of the virus at a very low level. Until June of this year.

Admittedly, people are now living almost without infection and with few restrictions in large parts of the country. But nearly half of the country’s 25 million residents are in strict lockdown as the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra have been shut down due to the spread of the delta variable. In-country travel is limited because states and territories that do not spread infection are keen to keep the delta variant at bay.

At the same time, relatively few Australians have been fully vaccinated, and at the time of writing about 30 percent of adults have received two doses.

change strategy

From the slogan “Zero COVID-19”, the federal authorities have now changed their strategy to “Coexist with COVID-19”. National guidelines for getting out of the restrictions have been provided.

The country’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison says, among other things, that the country will open its doors again when 80 percent of all adults are fully vaccinated, and that they will then be able to count on further spread of the infection. There is also a plan to open to international visitors.

Something that was received with mixed enthusiasm among local leaders and sparked interstate disputes at state leaders’ daily press conferences.

Western Australian leader Mark McGowan responded with “complete insanity”, who declined to say when she might consider opening its borders.

Attorney Daniel Estrin says: Sydney Morning Herald That in Western Australia it could end up with a situation where the federal authorities decide to open the door to international visitors, but those are then denied entry to the state and forced to stay at airports.

The medical profession is very important

And leaders in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania – all with minimal infections – have also questioned plans to open up. They are supported by the AMA Medical Profession.

“If we open the doors to the coronavirus, we risk the collapse of our public hospitals and part of this stems from a long-term lack of investment in public hospital capacity from state and federal governments,” said Omar Khurshid, president of the AMA. statment.

On the other hand, the states of New South Wales (where Sydney is located) and Victoria (Melbourne) have adopted the position of the Morrison government. And in New South Wales, restrictions were released slightly this week when the state topped 70 per cent of those who got the first dose. State leader Gladys Berejiklian also promised more freedoms as the vaccination rate increased.