Australia’s prime minister fended off accusations of racism and having blood on his palms Tuesday, as he retreated from a menace to jail Australians making an attempt to flee Covid-wracked India.
Scott Morrison’s authorities moved to ban travellers from India from getting into Australia till May 15, threatening rule-breakers — together with Australian residents — with jail time.
Amid a widespread backlash, Morrison on Tuesday mentioned it was “extremely unlikely” that Australians who skirted a ban would be jailed.
“I think the likelihood of any of that occurring is pretty much zero,” Morrison mentioned in a breakfast-time media blitz on Tuesday.
Around 9,000 Australians are believed to be in India, the place lots of of hundreds of latest coronavirus instances are being detected day-after-day and the loss of life toll is hovering.
Among these trapped are a few of Australia’s most excessive profile sporting stars — cricketers taking part in within the profitable Indian Premier League.
Commentator and former Test cricket star Michael Slater was amongst those that pilloried Morrison’s determination, saying it was a “shame”.
“Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this,” he tweeted. “If our Government cared for the protection of Aussies they’d enable us to get dwelling.”
Morrison said the idea he had blood on his hands was “absurd”.
“The buck stops right here on the subject of these choices, and I’m going to take choices that I imagine are going to guard Australia from a 3rd wave,” he said.
“I’m working to bring them home safely,” he added, indicating that repatriation flights may start quickly after May 15.
The determination got here into drive on Monday and was denounced by rights teams and a few of Morrison’s most distinguished allies together with Sky News commentator Andrew Bolt who mentioned it “stinks of racism”.
Australia has largely avoided the worst of the pandemic through some of the strictest border controls in the world.
There is a blanket ban on travel to-and-from the country unless an exemption is secured.
Non-residents are mostly banned from entering and anyone who does come into the country must carry out a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine.
But that system has come under increasing strain as the virus has jumped from quarantine facilities and caused a series of outbreaks in the largely unvaccinated community.
The conservative prime minister faces reelection in the next 12 months, and had hoped Australia’s relatively successful handling of the pandemic would propel him to victory.
But the India travel ban and a glacial vaccine rollout have prompted criticism.
Australia has administered 2.2 million vaccine doses out of a population of 25 million people, who each need two doses to be fully immunised.
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