COVID-19 outbreaks around Australia have sparked more concerns about border closures, further curtailing international travel.
Australians who live overseas will no longer be granted automatic permission to leave the country. Instead, they’ll be forced to apply to the Australian Border Force for exemptions which will only be given under “exceptional circumstances”. Up until now, residents who live abroad are allowed to leave the country without needing special exemptions though they are questioned at teh border and need to provide proof that they are permanently based abroad.
The change will come into force on 11 August, and is designed to deter overseas-based Australian citizens from flying back to Australia for a visit rather than permanent relocation.
On Thursday, the ABC revealed that 54 Australian citizens have died of COVID-19 while overseas since mid-May this year, including many who had been trying to come back home.
“I think that really does show … the importance of the government doing all that it can to bring Australians home,” citizenship expert Kim Rubenstein said.
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NSW recorded its highest number of infections with 291 new locally acquired COVID-19 infections on Friday, and an unvaccinated woman in her 60s became the state’s 79th fatality after contracting the virus at Liverpool Hospital.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said it was the second death connected to the Liverpool Hospital outbreak.
“Can I personally extend my sympathies to her loved ones, it must be a very challenging time for them,” she said.
In Queensland, 10 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases emerged from 48,000 tests n 24 hours.
Victoria, in its first day of lockdown on Thursday, recorded four new locally acquired cases, all linked to previously reported infections.
The state’s lockdown, which includes regional areas, was sparked by two separate chains of transmission, dubbed the Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong outbreaks.