Australia stumps blanket visa ban on Ebola-hit countries
30 Oct 2014 4:31 AM IST
Australia has not recorded a case of Ebola despite a number of scares, and conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott has so far resisted repeated requests to send medical personnel to help battle the outbreak on the ground.The decision to refuse entry for anyone from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, while touted by the government as a necessary safety precaution, was criticised by experts and advocates as politically motivated and shortsighted.
‘The government has strong controls for the entry of persons to Australia under our immigration programme from West Africa,’ Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told parliament on Monday.
‘These measures include temporarily suspending our immigration programme, including our humanitarian programme from Ebola-affected countries, and this means we are not processing any application from these affected countries.’All non-permanent or temporary visas were being cancelled and permanent visa holders who had not yet arrived in Australia will be required to submit to a 21-day quarantine period, he added.
The announcement comes amidst a toughening of rhetoric from the Australian states around the disease, with at least one local government saying it was considering mandatory detention for anyone suspected of carrying the disease. Healthcare workers in Queensland state are being asked to enter voluntary quarantine upon returning from treating Ebola patients in Africa.‘If someone doesn’t enter voluntary quarantine and we have a reasonable concern then we will seek a quarantine order from a magistrate,’ Queensland Health Minister said.
‘The government has strong controls for the entry of persons to Australia under our immigration programme from West Africa,’ Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told parliament on Monday.
‘These measures include temporarily suspending our immigration programme, including our humanitarian programme from Ebola-affected countries, and this means we are not processing any application from these affected countries.’All non-permanent or temporary visas were being cancelled and permanent visa holders who had not yet arrived in Australia will be required to submit to a 21-day quarantine period, he added.
The announcement comes amidst a toughening of rhetoric from the Australian states around the disease, with at least one local government saying it was considering mandatory detention for anyone suspected of carrying the disease. Healthcare workers in Queensland state are being asked to enter voluntary quarantine upon returning from treating Ebola patients in Africa.‘If someone doesn’t enter voluntary quarantine and we have a reasonable concern then we will seek a quarantine order from a magistrate,’ Queensland Health Minister said.
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