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JOE ARMAO / Sydney Morning Herald
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australians have much to be thankful for and be thankful for during Christmas, although he acknowledged that it is “disappointing and frustrating” for people in Sydney who will not be able to spend it with their families.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says there are good reasons to expect life to return to “Covid normal” with a growing cluster of coronaviruses on Sydney’s North Beaches prompting a series of border closures across the country.
Christmas plans for people wanting to travel to and from New South Wales have been thrown into chaos and most states have closed their borders to Greater Sydney.
Western Australia and Queensland have also implemented strict borders with the state.
ITN
Long Covid patient Amy Durant from the UK says she is still suffering from coronavirus symptoms despite being diagnosed with the virus in March. She described how she has permanent chest pain.
On Tuesday, NSW announced that only eight positive Covid-19 cases out of more than 44,000 people tested were recorded. Seven cases are related to the northern beach group. The eighth case is a transport nurse who may be linked to the group on Sydney’s North Beaches, which grew to 83 on Monday after another 15 new community-transmitted cases were identified.
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But the NSW government was encouraged by that number because the new cases were half of the 30 reported on Sunday, after a record 38,578 tests were conducted.
Health authorities say the next 48 hours will be critical after the New South Wales government closed the northern beaches until midnight on Wednesday and resurrected a small set of restrictions for the Sydney metropolitan area.
JUSTIN MCMANUS / The Age
Australian police work at the Victoria state border on Monday.
The prime minister said he understands how disappointing and frustrating the situation is, but is optimistic about the state’s handling of the outbreak and the public’s compliance with health directives.
“There is good reason … to be hopeful that if they continue to apply the way they are, and the (public) cooperation continues, then we can see things return to normal from Covid,” he told journalists.
Morrison did not criticize the border closures, saying it is up to states and territories to make decisions about public health.
He said the federal government has tried to ensure a consistent national approach through a hotspot regime, but states want to maintain flexibility.
“What we have to see is what the result has been, and that is that Australia had one of the most successful results in suppressing the virus in this country of almost any other country in the world,” Morrison said.
Pool / Getty Images
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Residents of greater Sydney have been excluded from most of Australia’s states.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian made one last attempt Monday to get her state and territory counterparts to consider the “heartbreak” of tighter border restrictions at Christmas.
Residents of the greater Sydney area have been excluded from most of the country’s jurisdictions due to the Avalon cluster.
“All I am saying to colleagues across the country is to think about the anguish,” Berejiklian said.
“It affects not only people in New South Wales, but also people in their home states who may not have been reunited with family, friends or other important people for a long period of time.”
Sam Mooy / Getty Images
Queenland State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
But her appeal did not deter her Queensland counterpart, Annastacia Palaszczuk, from announcing Monday afternoon that a hard land border will be reimposed starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
He said there was no other option after police caught nearly 200 Sydney residents in 24 hours trying to illegally enter their state.
“People will start to see the barricades being lifted again this afternoon and they will go back to the strong border measures that we have seen in Queenslands that have kept Queenslanders safe,” he told reporters on Monday.
Western Australia enforces a strict border with all of New South Wales on Saturday, while most other states banned people from Sydney and the Central Coast as of Monday.
If they travel, they will have to undergo a 14-day hotel quarantine in most states, or a home quarantine in South Australia and ACT.
Only people from the greater Sydney area will have to self-quarantine for two weeks upon arrival in Tasmania.
Travelers from the Wollongong local government area are also unable to enter South Australia, while the Northern Territory, ACT and Queensland have banned the entire Illawarra / Shoalhaven region.
There is a 24-hour grace period for returning Queensland and Victoria residents, and authorities allow them to self-quarantine within their own homes.
