Australia closes state border for first time in 100 years to halt coronavirus

By Colin Packham and Renju Jose

 

People wearing protective face masks practice social distancing while waiting to enter an Apple store on the first day of New South Wales' further eased coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in Sydney, Australia, July 1, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The border between Australia's two most populous states will close from Tuesday for an indefinite period, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday, following an outbreak of the coronavirus in his state.

 

The decision marks the first time the border with neighbouring New South Wales has been shut in 100 years - officials last blocked movement between the two states in 1919 during the Spanish flu pandemic.

 

The number of COVID-19 cases in Melbourne, Victoria's capital, has surged in recent days, prompting authorities to enforce strict social-distancing orders in 30 suburbs and put nine public housing towers into complete lockdown.

 

The state reported 127 new COVID-19 infections overnight, its biggest one-day spike since the pandemic began. It also reported one death, the first nationally in more than two weeks, taking the country's total tally to 105.

 

"It is the smart call, the right call at this time, given the significant challenges we face in containing this virus," Andrews told reporters in Melbourne as he announced the border closure.

 

The closure will, however, likely be a blow to Australia's economic recovery as it heads into its first recession in nearly three decades.

 

Andrews said the decision to close the border, effective from 11.59 p.m. local time on Tuesday, was made jointly with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Victoria's only other internal border, with South Australia state, is already closed.

 

Australia has fared better than many countries in the coronavirus pandemic, with just short of 8,500 cases so far, but the Melbourne outbreak has raised alarm bells. The country has reported an average of 109 cases daily over the past week, compared with an average of just 9 cases daily over the first week of June.

 

(Reporting by Colin Packham and Renju Jose; editing by Jane Wardell)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-07-06

 

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Victorian's are not permitted to cross into NSW.  Maybe make that the new policy forever ..... lol

Will be very hard to close all access between these two states because there are just so many roads unless they are going to have police waste their resources to cover them all .

That's about as wise a decision as building an expensive wall to stop a tsunami. Expensive and overall ineffective. 

 

Since when can humans stop the spread of a virus when the initial outbreaks have not been contained? Am I living on a different planet now, completely devoid of rational humans. If we could stop this, we could stop flu seasons. But, we can't do that, can we. The entire world has lost their minds. 

Edited July 6, 20206 yr by utalkin2me

4 hours ago, keith101 said:

Will be very hard to close all access between these two states because there are just so many roads unless they are going to have police waste their resources to cover them all .

Police will be patrolling the whole border and using drones for non-road areas.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The state reported 127 new COVID-19 infections overnight, its biggest one-day spike since the pandemic began. It also reported one death, the first nationally in more than two weeks, taking the country's total tally to 105.

Second reported death now.

1 hour ago, utalkin2me said:

That's about as wise a decision as building an expensive wall to stop a tsunami. Expensive and overall ineffective. 

 

Since when can humans stop the spread of a virus when the initial outbreaks have not been contained? Am I living on a different planet now, completely devoid of rational humans. If we could stop this, we could stop flu seasons. But, we can't do that, can we. The entire world has lost their minds. 

Settle down, nobody is saying the virus can be stopped. It can however be minimized and better controlled with effective measures. 

Here in WA we have had the border closed for a long time now. Look at the figures for WA. Tells a good story. The WA people have said they want the border to stay closed too.

20 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

Here in WA we have had the border closed for a long time now. Look at the figures for WA. Tells a good story. The WA people have said they want the border to stay closed too.

but all these TV PhD experts want these borders open straight away. 

So who is correct  ?      is it that all these know all's actually know nothing   ??

6 hours ago, steven100 said:

Victorian's are not permitted to cross into NSW.  Maybe make that the new policy forever ..... lol

Need to build a wall to keep the Mexicans out !!

...biggest one day spike...

...smart call to close the border...

As infection takes up to 2 weeks to surface, I'd call the closure belated at best. A nation needs to be proactive with covid 19 testing ahead of infections to be smart.

Continuous 'group testing' vs individual testing can speed the process that should cover min. 75% of the population.

7 hours ago, steven100 said:

Victorian's are not permitted to cross into NSW.  Maybe make that the new policy forever ..... lol

Pity, Victorians moving to NSW raises the average IQ of both states. 

3 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Settle down, nobody is saying the virus can be stopped. It can however be minimized and better controlled with effective measures. 

Until the next protest when thousands of people will congregate with no action from the police or the <deleted> weak politician's 

3 hours ago, car720 said:

I say close all the borders.  That way those that are responsible will have a chance and the mindless can stew in it. Oh, and the millenials as well. 

Then you will not have to move the Q border past the Sunshine coast.

3 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Settle down, nobody is saying the virus can be stopped. It can however be minimized and better controlled with effective measures. 

 

yup, need to keep the R number low and ensure the health services are not overwhelmed

4 hours ago, steven100 said:

but all these TV PhD experts want these borders open straight away. 

So who is correct  ?      is it that all these know all's actually know nothing   ??

All those TV PhD experts that are not in Thailand want Thailand to open it's borders to let them back in.

But Thailand doesn't want the virus loose in the country, so isn't going to open the borders to countries like the US or UK without a quarantine any time soon.

 

They're just <deleted> off because they keep going on about Thailand being unorganised - but Thailand has dealt with the virus significantly better than their own countries (except the Kiwis).

25 minutes ago, bkk_mike said:

All those TV PhD experts that are not in Thailand want Thailand to open it's borders to let them back in.

But Thailand doesn't want the virus loose in the country, so isn't going to open the borders to countries like the US or UK without a quarantine any time soon.

 

They're just <deleted> off because they keep going on about Thailand being unorganised - but Thailand has dealt with the virus significantly better than their own countries (except the Kiwis).

Well said. 
 

And once in they’ll advocate for closing the borders again as they’ll be pointing to <insert favourite whipping boy> as proof of the need to keep them shut. 

This story is fake news. Qld and WA closed their borders months ago. The latest furore is about Victoria’s mismanagement Of Covid 19 by opening too soon, and hotspots erupting. NSW has closed its borders to Victoria AGAIN. Not that NSW has a lot of glory in this arena. They let the passengers of the plague cruise ship Diamond Princess disembark at Sydney and scatter across the country without quarantine or testing. Meanwhile one of Australia’s corporate villains is contesting the constitutional validity of closing State borders. More of the farce that is dear old Oz.

8 hours ago, samran said:

Pity, Victorians moving to NSW raises the average IQ of both states. 

quotes from fabulous rob muldoon!!

5 hours ago, honcho said:

quotes from fabulous rob muldoon!!

Indeed. Too good not to use it given the circumstance!

17 minutes ago, car720 said:

Sunshine Coast has been part of Victoria for years.  Even their football teams are living there now.

Lord knows we need an outpost of civilisation and sophistication north of the Tweed...

Edited July 7, 20206 yr by samran

22 hours ago, keith101 said:

Will be very hard to close all access between these two states because there are just so many roads unless they are going to have police waste their resources to cover them all .

Last time I looked there was a pretty big river separating the two!

3 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Last time I looked there was a pretty big river separating the two!

There are a number of bridges that cross the river but also a trip across into S.A. and into N.S.W. is an option as well as a boat trip up the coast SO many ways to go .

3 hours ago, keith101 said:

There are a number of bridges that cross the river but also a trip across into S.A. and into N.S.W. is an option as well as a boat trip up the coast SO many ways to go .

Keith,  give it a go and let us know how you get on .....

 

Some 650 police are currently travelling to the border to commence the operation.

The Australian Defence Force has agreed to assist by providing 100 members of defence on the ground from Thursday. That number will increase to 350 over the coming weekend.

On 7/6/2020 at 2:45 PM, Bkk Brian said:

Settle down, nobody is saying the virus can be stopped. It can however be minimized and better controlled with effective measures. 

You just cannot read between the lines, so it has to be spelled out for you. 

 

No. It cannot be minimized. Any attempts to minimize it (eg lockdowns) will result in either insignificant reduction, or more probably, more lives will be lost as a result of the controlling measures. 

 

It is all right in front of your face. People actually want to save their own lives, believe it or not. This is why Sweden has about 10 deaths per day now, without the need for much government regulation at all. 

 

What do we see in a country like the United States, desperately trying to "minimize" the virus? We see what was predicted by smart folks months ago. A locked down populous emerging from their homes serving as a blank canvas for the virus. 

 

Really, get over this idea humans can stop biological and physical disasters. You all have watched movies like Armegeddon too often. If an asteroid is coming for us, we are goners. Our governments cannot stop or slow down viral plagues any more than they can curtain earthquakes or tsunamis. 

Edited July 8, 20206 yr by utalkin2me

3 hours ago, utalkin2me said:

 

Really, get over this idea humans can stop biological and physical disasters. You all have watched movies like Armegeddon too often. If an asteroid is coming for us, we are goners. Our governments cannot stop or slow down viral plagues any more than they can curtain earthquakes or tsunamis. 

I never said the world can stop earthquakes or asteroids how you can link natural disasters to a viral pandemic is beyond me. 

 

My best advice to you, look at history, it can inform your opinions, it can provide evidence and give you a better understanding of what can and can't be done.

 

HIV:  new infections decreasing and have been since 2001. HIV deaths at nearly 3 million a year in the 90s now down to well below a million a year. Why? prevention and treatments.

 

SARS 2002: quickly contained, thanks to personal hygiene and isolation precautions learned from other outbreaks of coronavirus.

 

Ebola: Now has better treatments, containment measures and vaccine. Currently no ongoing outbreaks, a recent one just eradicated. 

 

H1N1: The list is long try a little research, calm down and you will discover the world is not going to end, we will survive, better treatments for COVID are already underway, vaccines are likely.