Road to order post-COVID

Hunt outlines Australia’s priorities, plan for travelling overseas again

AUSTRALIA’s “simple goal” is to keep people safe from COVID-19 and “progressively open as quickly as we can” to the rest of the world, says Health Minister Greg Hunt.

Potential extension of “green lane” travel like the current New Zealand bubble, as well as allowing people who have been fully vaccinated to be able to come and go “on a faster basis” than the 14-day hotel quarantine system are all potential options, Mr Hunt said.

“The roadmap is about progressive opening of the borders, and it’s really built around the three principles of green lanes and opening up new bubbles with different safe countries,” he said.

“We’ll judge those on the basis of medical advice.”

Mr Hunt said the second part of the roadmap to reopening was dependent on the domestic vaccine rollout, with this week already on track to be a “record” number of jabs administered.

“The third element is … the capacity for greater travel for those who have been vaccinated,” he said.

Mr Hunt said enabling fully vaccinated Australians to travel would be determined by how successful the vaccines are at stopping the COVID-19.

In a statement Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday confirmed Australia’s suppression strategy had not changed to an “elimination” or “zero cases” goal.

He said he never stated those to be Australia’s aim, and warned there would “always be cases as we return Australians home from overseas”.

“International borders transmission of will only open when it is safe to do so,” he said.

“We still have a long way to go, and there are still many uncertainties ahead.”

Mr Morrison said Australians were “living like in few countries around the world today”.

“We will continue to do everything we can to work together to prevent a third wave and roll out our vaccination program.”