The Australian government is tightening a pre-existing ban on entry from India to prevent Covid-19 from entering and threatened a five-year prison sentence on Saturday for violating the ban.
From Monday, anyone entering Australia who has been in India for the past 14 days could face a fine and imprisonment. Australia is thus reinforcing the temporary ban announced this week, which will run until at least 15 May.
The threat of imprisonment was expressed after traveling from India to Australia via another country showed that this could circumvent the government’s attempt to temporarily block entry from India.
“It is not easy for the government to make these decisions,” said Health Minister Greg Hunt.
“However, it is important that the integrity of Australia’s public health and quarantine systems is protected and that the number of Covid-19 cases in quarantine facilities is reduced to a manageable level.”
The statement, which for the first time specifically threatened imprisonment for violating the travel ban, was described by human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) as “terrible”.
“The government should look for ways to safely quarantine Australians returning from India, rather than focusing their efforts on imprisonment and severe punishment,” said Eleyn Pearson, Australia’s director of HRW.
The number of new one-day Covid-19 cases in India reached 385,000 on Friday, a new world record. Many experts, however, suspect that this official number is lower than the real one.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected calls for charter flights to repatriate thousands of Australian citizens stranded in India.
In March 2020, Australia closed its international borders to most other citizens. Those allowed to travel must spend 14 days in quarantine hotels upon return.
Less than 30,000 infections and 910 deaths have been reported in Australia since the start of the new coronavirus pandemic.
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