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Highlights
- Ever since coronavirus has struck, several Australian cities have used lockdowns to successfully end COVID-19 outbreaks.
- The country’s second-largest city Melbourne extended its lockdown on Wednesday to counter the rising cases of coronavirus.
- The Australian government sealed its border to foreign visitors and banned its citizens from leaving the country in March 2020.
Sneh Gandha, a 63-year-old from Jalandhar, India, has been, without fail, tracking updates daily on the existing coronavirus scenario in Australia. Her elder son Sumeet resides in Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales (NSW), which was last heard readying more military support as the highly infectious Delta variant spreads into the interiors.
It has been nearly two years since she last visited the country to meet his software engineer son. Considering the current situation, Sneh may have to wait a little longer till the Prime Minister Scott Morrison-led Federal Government is convinced to lift international border restrictions, allowing entry and exit of tourists.
Ever since coronavirus has struck, several Australian cities have used lockdowns to successfully end COVID-19 outbreaks. The country’s second-largest city Melbourne extended its lockdown on Wednesday to counter rising cases of coronavirus.
A relatively low vaccination rate among Australians is also a cause for concern for the Morrison government, which has been under continuous attack for its alleged missteps, including a shortage of Pfizer vaccines and a lack of conviction on the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which the country produces domestically.
Source: © Fedor-o | Megapixl.com
When would Australia open its doors for international visitors?
Coronavirus lockdowns have resulted in Australia cocooning itself off from the rest of the pandemic-raged world for the last year and a half. The unprecedented step by the Australian government of almost entirely sealing its border to foreign visitors and banning its citizens from leaving the country was taken in March 2020.
One-and-a-half years later, there are nearly six million Australians under stay-at-home orders. Most of these people reside in Sydney.
While there were reports of authorities in Sydney considering easing restrictions for vaccinated residents, a low level of vaccination may not allow this to materialise. The sluggishness of the vaccination program can be seen from the fact that only 14% of the people have been fully vaccinated so far in the country.
80% vaccination target to open borders
The government has set an 80% vaccination target to open borders. It means Australians would be allowed to travel to safe countries when 80% of the eligible adults get fully vaccinated. Vaccinated adults can hope for more freedom from the coronavirus-induced restrictions when 70% of them are fully jabbed. Morrison believes that the country could meet this target by the year-end.
The government, which goes into the election this year, has now put the onus on the Australians. It is now in the hands of the people how fast they accomplish the mission, Prime Minister said.
Source: © cefields | Megapixl.com
Economic impact
With Australian states entering fresh lockdowns, concerns are rife over the impact on the AU$1.5-trillion economy, one of the few to have successfully navigated the pandemic in 2020. There are economists who anticipate Australia slipping into a second recession in as many years due to these lockdowns.
The economy had already witnessed its first recession in 30 years in the early part of last year. Unfortunately, the ongoing efforts by the government and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to boost the economy during COVID-19 recently have started bearing fruits, with Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) passing pre-pandemic levels.
The Bottom Line
Considering the current situation, it is unclear when Sneh would join her son in Sydney, like many others stranded overseas, separated from their families for over a year now. Till then, people can seek some support from the famous quote: “Patience is bitter, but fruit is sweet.”
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