Australia clamps down in response to cases of UK coronavirus variant

In response to the threat posed by the two variants, on 8 January, Australia’s National Cabinet implemented tighter restrictions for returning passengers.Australia has had mandatory hotel quarantine for passengers arriving in the country since 28 March last year, with only citizens, permanent residents and their partners allowed to enter.All passengers will now be required to test negative before boarding flights to Australia, and masks will be mandatory in all airports and on all international and domestic flights.Hotel quarantine staff, including cleaners and transport workers, will be tested for covid-19 daily – they were previously tested weekly.Other Australian states swiftly shut their borders to those who had been in the Greater Brisbane area, leaving thousands returning or moving interstate in limbo – this reporter included.There has been broad public support for the measures: Australians across the country are keen to avoid another Melbourne-style lockdown, which was both stringent and longstanding, and are shocked by the situation in Europe and the US.Testing shows that one in 85,000 people in Australia has covid-19, compared to one in 50 in the UK.Culturally, Australians are more willing to follow public orders than those in the UK and US, says MacIntyre.“Cultural barriers to disease control can be overcome through good leadership, and we didn’t see that in the US,” she says.