Australia considers staggered reopening of borders

SYDNEY REUTERS, 16 April, 2021-  Australia will consider a staggered reopening of its international borders to allow residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel abroad first, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.   

 Australian citizens and permanent residents cannot leave the country due to coronavirus restrictions unless they have an exemption, while returning international travelers have to quarantine in hotels for two weeks at their own expence.   

 “The first goal I think is to enable Australians who are vaccinated to be able to move and travel, particularly for important purposes,” Morrison told a community forum in Perth.   

 Under such a system, Morrison said vaccinated people could travel overseas for business and personal emergencies, and quarantine at home after returning to the country.  Any partial border reopening was “still some time away” and would not happen before vulnerable people were vaccinated, as returning travellers could bring at least 1,000 new cases a week into a country currently seeing almost no community transmission, Morrison separately told radio station 6PR Perth.