The few arrivals are subject to a 14-day quarantine. The border remains closed today, with permits required to come to Australia (issued in limited numbers and limited circumstances) and to leave it. It helps, of course, to be an island nation that had closed its international borders at the start of the pandemic. It stands at just over 36 people per million of population, versus 1,853 for the United States. At just under 1,000 deaths, Australia has had the second-lowest mortality among the OECD countries (after New Zealand). Australia has been the victim of both its success and its failure in tackling Covid. Has Covid-19 really turned one of the world’s oldest democracies into a dystopian health dictatorship? As my Polish grandmother used to say, things are rarely as good or as bad as they appear.įirst, some background to the current crisis. “If we invade Australia we will be greeted as liberators,” argues Jack Posobiec. “Australia has lost its collective mind,” according to Ben Shapiro. What the hell is happening Down Under? “Totalitarianism,” says Tucker Carlson. Health bureaucrats advising the citizenry not to stop and talk to their neighbors while walking their dog. Soldiers patrolling suburbs to enforce lockdowns. Nighttime curfews and one hour of exercise per day. Rescue dogs being shot to prevent volunteers travelling to collect them. Instead, the federal government has adopted a "Fortress Australia" approach, imposing some of the world's strictest measures to prevent people - including its own citizens - from entering or leaving the country.Riot police firing rubber bullets into lockdown protesters. But, unlike most other countries, it has shown little interest in re-opening them. When the first Covid-19 cases were recorded in Australia last year, the nation - like much of the world - was quick to close its borders. READ MORE HERE Australia: 'Fortress' approach risks creating 'hermit outpost' But the muscular measures - a combination of centralised policy and active grassroots mobilisation - have been credited with curbing the virus domestically. When China shut off Hubei province from the rest of the country in late January last year, imposing what was then the largest mass quarantine in modern history, many criticised Beijing for its draconian moves. In China, mass gatherings are allowed, travel has mostly returned while mask-wearing is almost an afterthought. READ MORE HERE Wuhan, China: Aggressive measures pay off, with grassroots help Hong Kong has so far managed to stave off a fourth wave of the pandemic - what the Food and Health Bureau said was mainly caused by importation of cases - and bring local outbreaks under control. Six months after Hong Kong's leader announced a target of zero Covid-19 infections, the city on Thursday finally hit the seemingly ambitious goal even as the pandemic flares up in other places like Singapore and Taiwan. READ MORE HERE Hong Kong: Surprise area testing yields results US: Sharper, rigorous curbs lead to better outcomesĪs Covid-19 cases rise across South-east and North-east Asia, this time in some countries and cities in the form of faster-spreading variants, the livelihoods of hundreds of millions hang on whether there should be a lockdown, and to what degree.īy and large, the classic policy response to outbreaks has been lockdowns. The Straits Times bureaus report on wisdom gleaned from handling the world's public health crisis. China was both patted and panned for the Wuhan way. Down Under has a new nickname, 'Fortress Australia'. Hong Kong has its ambush-style mini lockdowns.
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