Australia closes the border: Non-residents are banned from entering the country from 9pm tomorrow – as PM says 80 per cent of virus cases were brought in from overseas
- The Prime Minister has taken the drastic action of shutting the country’s border
- From 9pm on Friday, only residents and citizens will be allowed to enter country
- Australians will be allowed to enter but will have to be in quarantine for 14 days
- 80 per cent of Australia’s 636 coronavirus cases have come in from abroad
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
The Prime Minister has closed Australia’s borders to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
From 9pm on Friday night, only Australian permanent residents and citizens will be allowed to enter the country.
Scott Morrison said he made the drastic move because 80 per cent of Australia’s 636 coronavirus cases have come in from abroad.
The ban, which has no end date, is likely to cause chaos for thousands of temporary residents who live and work in Australia, such as people on skilled work visas.
The ban does not apply to direct family members of permanent residents and citizens.
Announcing the ban, the Prime Minister said: ‘We will be resolving to move to a position where a travel ban will be placed on all non-residents, non-Australian citizens coming to Australia, and that will be in place from 9pm tomorrow evening.
‘For Australians, of course, they will be able to return and they will be subject, as they already are, to 14 days of isolation upon arrival back in Australia.’
Explaining the move, the Prime Minister said: ‘About 80 per cent of the cases we have in Australia are someone who has contracted the virus overseas or someone who has had direct contact with someone who has returned from overseas.
‘So, the overwhelming proportion of cases in Australia have been imported.’
Mr Morrison said the world-wide travel ban was an extension of existing bans on people coming from Italy, South Korea, Iran and China.
‘Measures we have put in place have obviously put an impact on that and this is a further measure now that that can be further enhanced,’ he said.
New Zealand has made the same move, also shutting the border to non-residents.
Prime Minister Jacinda Arden urged more than 600,000 New Zealanders living in Australia not to go home because that may increase the spread of the virus.
Ms Ardern and Mr Morrison consulted each other before agreeing to shut the borders.
After Virgin Australia cancelled all international flights, Mr Morrison said national carrier Qantas would continue to repatriate Australians.
‘I want to thank Qantas also, who are offering to work with us to make sure they maintain flights from particular parts of the world that can assist Australians to return to Australia and we will be working closely with them, and those Australians who are overseas, we have been encouraging them to return to Australia.