Australian officials have defended the international border closures, despite criticism that the country is on the verge of becoming a "hermit nation."
Tens of thousands of Australians are still attempting to return home, and the backlog is increasing as a result of the weekly arrivals limit. A lot of those people have been left behind in India, and hundreds were thrown off a repatriation flight Saturday after testing positive for coronavirus.
The safety of Australians in the country, according to Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, comes first.
"We are working to make sure that we can continue the repatriation of Australians from India, but we're doing so in a way that doesn't jeopardize the health outcomes and the economic outcomes that Australia has enjoyed throughout this pandemic," Birmingham said.
Australia took the unprecedented step in March of closing its borders to international tourists and prohibiting its residents from leaving the country. This resulted in the nation's first population loss since World War I, stranding tens of thousands of Australian people overseas and separating hundreds of thousands of residents from family members.
However, the country now has almost no community transmission, and most people's lives are relatively normal. The government's new proposal to keep borders closed for another year has sparked heated debate.
"Australia cannot keep its international borders closed indefinitely," Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid said Tuesday, calling for improved quarantine facilities and vaccination efforts to permit borders to slowly open.
"At some point, it will not be possible to justify the maintenance of border closures given their impact on lives and livelihoods," Khorshid added.
The economic impact of border closures has been mitigated by substantial stimulus spending, but an increasing number of business leaders from hard-hit sectors are now speaking out.
Jayne Hrdlicka, CEO of Virgin Australia, led the charge on Monday, claiming that Australia must accept that COVID-19 will not be eradicated and that borders should be gradually reopened.
Slowly, officials are beginning to link border reopenings to vaccine targets. In a nation of 25 million people, only three million doses have been delivered so far.
On Tuesday, the premier of Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, stated that a goal of around 80% of adults should be completely vaccinated was set.
