Australian residents and citizens who have been in India within 14 days of the date they plan to return home will be banned from entering Australia as of Monday and those who disobey will face fines and jail, government officials said.
The emergency determination, made late on Friday, is part of strict measures to stop travellers to Australia from the world’s second most populous nation as it contends with a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
The restrictions come into effect from May 3 and breaching the ban risks civil penalties and up to five years imprisonment, Health Minister Greg Hunt said in a statement.
“Our hearts go out to the people of India – and our Indian-Australian community. The friends and family of those in Australia are in extreme risk. Tragically, many are contracting COVID-19 and many, sadly, are dying every day,” Hunt said.
The Australian government will reconsider the restrictions on May 15, he said.
Meanwhile, India on Saturday reported a massive surge of 402,110 cases, Worldometer showed this morning. With this, India became the first country in the world to register over 400,000 infections in a single day. As many as 3,522 new deaths were also reported on the day.
The cumulative caseload stands at 19,157,094 and the death toll from the virus has reached 211,835. India now has nearly 3.3 million active cases.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Australia extended the ambit of flight ban from India by shutting transit routes through Doha, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, ABC News reported. The decision was taken after two Australian cricketers, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson, who left the Indian Premier League midway, took a Qatar Airways flight on Thursday afternoon to return to Australia. Another cricketer Andrew Tye had also left the tournament and reached Australia before the ban kicked in.
