COVID-19: Australia's Northern Territory to be closed to visitors for 18 more months

As the world grapples with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Minister of Australia’s northern territory Michael Gunner said that the region will keep border restrictions in place for at least 18 more months. Reportedly, the territory is beefing up its borders to restrict the entry of visitors from virus hotspots.

The step comes in the wake of the novel coronavirus wreaking havoc worldwide. As per several reports, Gunner said that the border controls are being continued till 2022 to protect the large and vulnerable Aboriginal population. As per the government figures, the northern region is home to nearly 250,000 people, 30 per cent of whom are Aboriginal.

As per several reports, indigenous Australians are considered to be more at-risk to diseases such as the deadly virus because of the socio-economic and cultural factors, affecting access to medical care. Many Aboriginal people have prompted fears that the virus could sweep through remote indigenous communities where healthcare services and centres are limited.

Commenting on the decision, Gunner said this is what needs to be done to ensure the safety of the most vulnerable people in the world. As of August 11, the northern territory had only two active virus cases and has only reported 34 infections till date. No fatalities have been recorded since the starting of the pandemic.

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The region is currently closed to Victoria and Sydney, and Gunner said that he expected other places to be excluded. The announcement immediately sparked confusion, after which Gunner clarified that the territory will remain open to most visitors. However, people from coming from hotspots like Victoria and the greater Sydney metropolitan region, would need to spend two weeks in quarantine.  

Australian states impose border restrictions 

Those visitors will also have to pay for their quarantine hotel stay. Victoria has nearly 8,000 active cases, and has reported 19 deaths till now. New South Wales reported 22 new infections on August 10, its highest spike in months. Gunner also said that the northern region is likely to add more places than remove them from the quarantine list, and the possibility of lifting those impositions by February 2022 is a conservative estimate.

He also stated that residents should cancel their Christmas holiday plans and stay in the northern region to ensure their own safety. Australia, which has reported nearly 22,000 cases and 332 fatalities from the deadly virus, has also closed its international borders indefinitely.  A number of states in the country have imposed border restrictions to visitors from virus hotspots parts of the nation. Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently said that border restrictions would likely stay through Christmas.

(Image credit: AP)

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