Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

[DC3]

Should the PM be ‘incapacitated’ or put out of action for some reason, there is a line of succession.

So, if the PM goes into (“proper”) quarantine, then the Deputy PM can take over. The same principle applies to any other government minister, office holder, etc (including emergency services, military, and probably in many businesses). This is nothing unusual.

There’s nothing particularly special about these people. They are all replaceable.

In any case, there’s nothing wrong with pollies experiencing the quarantine conditions that they have imposed upon their fellow Australians.

Edited

 

[DC3]

Quarantine at The Lodge? Real deprivation indeed.

 

[DC3]

...I can understand the PM not going to a hotel for quarantine.

Confined to a pokey room at the Ibis/Pullman/Rydges, etc, for 14 days might give some pollies a grasp on reality.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I disagree with this. It is irrelevant if he takes over a floor, we know there is plenty of capacity in quarantine as almost all the States have dropped their arrival caps!

I think it’s an important principle. At the moment if you are a politician, a sportsperson or an actor you are allowed to cross the border in and out of australia to do your job and the inconvenience and cost of returning is minimised. Everyone else is stuck. That stinks imo and is a major reason for the Federal Government’s complacency - if you had scomo and Dan Tehan looking down the barrel of 2 weeks in hotel quarantine I can guarantee things would be moving faster.

Money and power has always talked pre-Covid as now, no matter whether you are in Australia, UK, US or Russia or anywhere else.
The fact that Government ministers can quarantine at home instead of in hotels would not even register on the consideration of border openings.
It’s not a major reason, it’s a non-issue in these decisions.

 

[DC3]

Money and power has always talked pre-Covid as now, no matter whether you are in Australia, UK, US or Russia or anywhere else.
The fact that Government ministers can quarantine at home instead of in hotels would not even register on the consideration of border openings ...

Quarantining at home. One of the perks of high office.

Edited

 

[jakeseven7]

Money and power has always talked pre-Covid as now, no matter whether you are in Australia, UK, US or Russia or anywhere else.
The fact that Government ministers can quarantine at home instead of in hotels would not even register on the consideration of border openings.
It’s not a major reason, it’s a non-issue in these decisions.

Who cares what you think I want to know what Jenny thinks

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

I don't understand why New Zealand didn't have to put outwards travel bans on its citizens and they have no backlog for MIQ

Edit - per capita, if we had the MIQ places NZ had, we'd have around 10,500 beds per week. That's almost double what we have.

I guess that's my answer.

A ban wasn't needed in NZ because it is hard to get back. Like Australia there are more NZers wanting to get back than MIQ places, so it is a bit of a lottery for when you could return. Of course the time & cost for MIQ is also a factor.

 

[justinbrett]

A ban wasn't needed in NZ because it is hard to get back. Like Australia there are more NZers wanting to get back than MIQ places, so it is a bit of a lottery for when you could return. Of course the time & cost for MIQ is also a factor.

In the early stages yes but Jacinta recently announced the backlog was cleared and there were available MIQ places with no wait

Why was the ban needed in Australia? It’s even harder to get back here.

 

[Lynda2475]

Why was the ban needed in Australia? It’s even harder to get back here.

It wasnt needed.

And it shouldnt be harder to get back here, if we offered HQ places at the same % per capita as NZ does and required people to pre-pay for it like NZ does, we would have also cleared more of the back log.

But we have ACT and Tas that take no regualr direct international arrivals, and Vic, Qld and WA taking well below what they should be able to manage based on population.

 

[Lynda2475]

ABC Covid Blog reports:

Hawaii approaches COVID vaccination rate of 70 per cent​

Hawaii Governor David Ige said that the state will drop its quarantine and COVID-19 requirement for travellers once 70 per cent of the state's population has been vaccinated against the disease.

Hawaii will also lift its requirement that people wear masks indoors once that level has been reached, he said.

The state Department of Health website said 59 per cent of Hawaii's population has had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 52 per cent finished their dosing regimen.

The state is using its figures, and not those provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to calculate thresholds for lifting restrictions.

Health Department Director Dr Libby Char said that's because Hawaii's numbers are more accurate. She said it appears the CDC has been counting some of Hawaii's doses twice.

Right now, travellers arriving from out of state must spend 10 days in quarantine or, to bypass that quarantine, they must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken before departure for the islands.

Once 60 per cent of Hawaii's population is vaccinated, Mr Ige said, the state will allow travellers to bypass a quarantine requirement as long as they can prove they were vaccinated in the US.

Restrictions on travel between the islands will open up before that.

Doesnt look like US is going to be quick to recognise vaccinations given overseas. Apart from saftey and effectiveness, the other reason I want a Pfizer or Moderna vaccination is because these are approved for use in the USA (and otehr destinations I travel to regularly), and therfore when we can finally leave I expect to have less drama travelling to USA having had Pfizer than AZ which is not approved for use in the USA.

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

In the early stages yes but Jacinta recently announced the backlog was cleared and there were available MIQ places with no wait

Why was the ban needed in Australia? It’s even harder to get back here.

NZ MIQ spaces are still hard to get. I know people who want to enter (and have been trying for a year) but have been unable to. While there may be availability on some days, it is limited.
When they release space it goes pretty fast.

 

[jakeseven7]

NZ MIQ spaces are still hard to get. I know people who want to enter (and have been trying for a year) but have been unable to. While there may be availability on some days, it is limited.
When they release space it goes pretty fast.

Yes, our Kiwi family had a nightmare of a time because you have to try and find flights that line up with the quarantine slots which a lot of people find very hard to do precisely. I actually don’t think the NZ system is that great after our experience trying to help them through it. (Not saying Australia’s is better by the way, just another flavour of cough!)

 

[JB expat]

That is a very interesting point re USA not approving AZ. I’ve had the AZ (2nd next week) but hold a USA passport. You’ve just sealed my decision to get Pfizer when I next visit family in the USA. Of course, I will speak to a dr about double vaccines but if there is any doubt around being free to move around based on vaccine brand, this is not irrational. Plus, data seems to show Pfizer is better against the India variants which may become less relevant once it is clear that getting a vaccine is an annual thing to address variants.

 

[Pushka]

That is a very interesting point re USA not approving AZ. I’ve had the AZ (2nd next week) but hold a USA passport. You’ve just sealed my decision to get Pfizer when I next visit family in the USA. Of course, I will speak to a dr about double vaccines but if there is any doubt around being free to move around based on vaccine brand, this is not irrational. Plus, data seems to show Pfizer is better against the India variants which may become less relevant once it is clear that getting a vaccine is an annual thing to address variants.

Everyone in Aus will be getting Pfizer as a booster I'd expect.

 

[mviy]

Good to see another article about the key problem of international travel not being allowed: 'Bye-bye, Australia': The migrants leaving for good so they can see their families

We need the media to keep bringing this up and we need them to ask government about it.

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

I dont think USA disregarding AZ will be an issue, alot of the western world is using AZ, they will be amenable to it. They are just not trusting the documentation around non-usa vaccinations for now is what i imagine.

 

[Must...Fly!]

That is a very interesting point re USA not approving AZ. I’ve had the AZ (2nd next week) but hold a USA passport

They manufacture, order and are providing it to various countries with borders both to the north and south. I wouldn't fret about it being recognised.

 

[DC3]

That is a very interesting point re USA not approving AZ. I’ve had the AZ (2nd next week) but hold a USA passport. You’ve just sealed my decision to get Pfizer when I next visit family in the USA ....

Certainly there seems to be great availability of COVID vax in the US. The current US administration is doing much better with the rollout than we are experiencing in Oz.

 

[DC3]

... We need the media to keep bringing this up and we need them to ask government about it.

I don’t believe that ‘the government’’ is all that interested. Seemingly ‘hiding under the doona’, regarding a plan for reopening overseas travel, I read somewhere.

 

[justinbrett]

I don’t believe that ‘the government’’ is all that interested. Seemingly ‘hiding under the doona’, regarding a plan for reopening overseas travel, I read somewhere.

I hate to say it but I don't think most Australians care. People show their true colours in times like these and it seems a lot of people are selfish with no compassion, completely ruled by fear. We've seen this at a local level with the various state border closures last year and again during the recent Indian travel pause. It's OK if our citizens die as long as it's not on Australian soil. They don't mess up our stats that way.