Australian administrators have just started applying interstate travel restrictions as the COVID-19 outbreak raises in Sydney, the country’s largest city. Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Victoria momentarily banned arrivals from Sydney.
The recent outbreak in Sydney has had 83 new confirmed cases, which could be traced back to Sydney’s Northern Beaches. The state of New South Wales showed a total of 38000 coronavirus tests within the 24 hours to follow the spread of the virus, which does not appear to have whatever’s beyond the Northern Beaches covered.
Just before this new outbreak, Australia had gone far more than two weeks with no report of any local transmissions and most travel restrictions had been lifted ahead of Christmas.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison reminded us that “2020 is not done with us. The events of the past few weeks… are very exasperating and disappointing for people all around the country who had plans in place to get together and move in-between states.”
Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Victoria shortly banned arrivals from Sydney on Monday while Tasmania and South Australia enforced a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers from the capital. In addition to that, Western Australia implemented a hard border closure.
The ACT (The Australian Capital Territory) of Canberra advised outside travelers to not visit, or they would be subject to a 14-day quarantine.
These protocols and measures were announced over the weekend, offering travelers a short window to travel before the new rules were taken into action. Airlines also canceled several flights from Sydney Airport.
In New South Wales, holiday gatherings are limited to 10 people in households and 300 people in public establishments. Residents are insisted to wear masks while in public, although not required. Rules regarding Christmas gatherings are expected to be released later this week.
