Military to oversee the quarantine of overseas visitors in Victoria
Daniel Andrews (the Victorian Premier) recently announced that they have requested assistance from the nation’s defence forces to better manage the recent spike of COVID-19 cases amid overseas arrivals.
Recently, there was a lot of commotion about the state of hotels where more than 18,000 visitors had been quarantined during two and a half months. Luckily, the government was able to take control of the situation and keep the standards high. This time around, however, they will need more than just policies. They’ll need workforce.
A surge that has shaken Victoria
Victorian health authorities have had their hands full of late, with new cases (and two clusters) that can be directly linked to quarantine hotels. Some of these have happened overnight, which has led the authorities to believe their resources might not be enough, and stricter measures are required to contain the hotel quarantine spots.
As a result, 1,000 or more members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) will be stationed in Victoria to help contain the spread of the pandemic from places where travellers have been quarantined.
Will Australia close its borders to visitors from the Indian subcontinent
Jenny Mikakos, the state health minister, has gone on record stating that most of the new cases they have found have had a travel history associated with countries from the Indian subcontinent. As a result, Victoria might close its borders to countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India for some time.
She said that because these countries have been experiencing a massive surge in cases on their end, some of the travellers coming to Australia might be escalating the situation in Victoria.
