Melbourne: The Australian government has threatened a five-year prison sentence or a hefty fine, and has temporarily barred its citizens from entering the country if they were in India within 14 days of their intended arrival.
The decision was announced on Friday after a meeting of the National Cabinet and will take effect from Monday.
The step is aimed at coronavirus spread in check in Australia as India has an increase in cases of infections.
The decision is based on the share of quarantine overseas travelers in Australia who contracted the infection in India, according to Health Minister Greg Hunt.
“If an emergency provision under the Biosafety Act in 2015 is not complied with, a civil fine of 300 penalty units, five years imprisonment or both can be imposed,” reads an official statement from the ministry.
The decision will be reviewed on May 15 following advice from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO).
“The CMO will consider the epidemiology in India and have the potential impact on Australia’s quarantine capacity, providing a further expert assessment of Australia’s health risk to provide a proportionate response,” he said.
The ministry statement said it was important to protect the integrity of the Australian public health and quarantine system and the number COVID-19 cases in isolation facilities are reduced to a manageable level.
The statement also expressed solidarity with India and said: ‘Our hearts go out to the people of India and our Indo-Australian community. The friends and family of those in Australia run an extreme risk. ‘Australia will also supply emergency medical supplies to India, including more than 1,000 non-invaders ventilators.
In addition, it offered to supply a significant number of personal protective equipment (PPE), one million surgical masks, 100,000 surgical gowns, 100,000 glasses, 100,000 gloves and 20,000 face shields.
Source: Telangana Today