‘A temporary pause on travellers from India entering Australian territory, amidst worsening COVID-19 situation in India,’ Greg Hunt, Minister for Health and Aged Care

In the wake of an upsurge in COVID-19 situation in India, the Australian Government will implement a temporary pause on travellers from India entering Australian territory, if the passenger has been in India within 14 days of the person’s intended arrival date in Australia, with effect from 3 May 2021, 12.01 am, Monday.

According to the press statement released by the Ministry for Health and Aged Care – failure to comply with an emergency determination under the Biosecurity Act 2015 may incur a civil penalty of 300 penalty units, five years’ imprisonment, or both.

“The Government does not make these decisions lightly. However, it is critical the integrity of the Australian public health and quarantine systems is protected and the number of COVID-19 cases in quarantine facilities is reduced to a manageable level,” Greg Hunt, Minister for Health and Aged Care said.

“The temporary pause will be reconsidered on 15 May by the Government following advice from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO). The CMO will consider the epidemiology in India and likely impacts on Australia’s quarantine capacity, and provide a further expert assessment of the public health risk to Australia to inform a proportionate response,” the Minister added.

India has been reporting more than 300,000 new cases of COVID-19 every day for the past week. The total number of cases in India is now close to 19 million and more than 200,000 people have died.

“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,” the Minister noted.

 In an effort to support India, following consultation with the Indian Government, Australia has agreed to provide emergency medical supplies. The initial package of support includes:

·       More than 1,000 non-invasive ventilators, with capacity to deploy up to a total of 3,000 ventilators.

·       A significant package of personal protective equipment (PPE), including

one million surgical masks, 500,000 P2/N95 masks,

·       100,000 surgical gowns,

·       100,000 goggles,

·       100,000 pairs of gloves and 20,000 face shields.

  AUSTRALIA TRAVEL PAUSE, covid, GREG HUNT, india, INDIA TRAVEL PAUSE