India COVID crisis: Emergency powers invoked to block all travellers from India
Greg Hunt will use powers under the Biosecurity Act to stop travellers coming into the country from India leaving the fate of stranded Australians up in the air.
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Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt will use emergency powers to block all travellers from India from Monday, over concerns that transiting passengers who have been in the COVID-stricken country could still enter Australia.
According to a report in The Australian, Mr Hunt will use powers under the Biosecurity Act to stop people who have been in India during the past two weeks from arriving in Australia, upon advice from Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly.
The powers, which have never been used before, will come into force from Monday and people who breach them will face five years’ jail or a fine of up to $66,600.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan revealed yesterday he had been told that 4500 Australians had travelled to India “for various reasons” in the first three months of this year. There are about 9000 stranded Australians in India wanting to come home, 650 of whom are considered vulnerable.
AUSSIES COULD BE HOME ‘SOON’
Earlier, Mr Hunt had said Aussies stranded in COVID-19 decimated India could be home within days after the flight ban is lifted on May 15.
There were more than 380,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India and 3645 deaths on Thursday – bringing the number of confirmed infections in the country to more than 18 million and more than 200,000 deaths.
“The figures we know are reaching extraordinary levels and so we have put the pause on the flights from India,” Mr Hunt said.
He said Prime Minister Scott Morrison and national cabinet “were focused on making sure we have a pathway for repatriation flights from India to begin as soon as possible … once we have seen a reduction in the number of cases in Howard Springs.”
Mr Hunt said that pathway also applied to the resumption of commercial flights, with Qantas today confirming it was in continued negotiations with the Federal Government over aircraft and crew availability and flight slots for when the May 15 pause is lifted.
It came after Mr Morrison today said a loophole – first revealed by News Corp Australia on Wednesday – which allowed travellers from India to enter Australia via connecting flights in Doha was closed.
“We are not carrying passengers on this route,” Qatar Airways said in a statement.
“We remain in close contact with the relevant Australian authorities to maintain the compliance required with the current restrictions on passenger arrivals from India.”
There are currently 55 returned travellers at the Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory with COVID-19 – the majority of whom are Indian returnees.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said he wanted to stop repatriation flights from India for the whole of May, beyond the federal government’s May 15.
Mr Hunt said the was working through the details of a proposal for a quarantine facility in Melbourne’s north, and the federal government would respond after looking at the plan.
Asked whether the Federal Government would offer Aussies stranded in India financial support or vaccines, Mr Hunt said: “I will not pre-empt anything on financial support. The question on vaccinations is a challenging one for Australians overseas. We have to ensure there is a cold chain integrity, support of countries and that is something we’re always taking advice on and it is advice that we have to take in terms of what is achievable and what is not.”
MASTERCHEF STAR’S FIGHT TO FEED INDIA’S POOR
Former MasterChef contestant Sandeep Pandit is turning his talents from his kitchen to fundraising in bid to help feed India’s poorest of the poor during the COVID-19 crisis.
The father of one, who migrated to Australia from India less than five years ago, said he was touched by the plight of India’s forgotten people some who are so sick they can’t cook for themselves and some who are too poor to buy any food.
Given the title of best Indian cook in the 11 seasons of MasterChef for his Lobster Masala dish, Mr Pandit said he decided to use his social media profile to raise money and has promised to donate his prized MasterChef jacket to the highest donor on his GoFundMe page.
He is directing the money raised to a group of small non-government organisations helping feed the forgotten people.
He is also supporting the efforts of one woman Aakanksha Sadekar who is cooking at her home in the state of Maharashtra and using her bike to deliver food to destitute women and children living on the streets of Pune.
“Just $11 will buy a 25kg bag of rice and that can feed a lot of people,” said Mr Pandit.
Mr Pandit said people are sinking into poverty which is a fast-growing consequence of the pandemic.
Sudarshan Succhi, the CEO of Save the Children in India, agrees and said many families have been left without a source of income pulling millions of children below the poverty line and the poorest into even deeper poverty.
“The pandemic has reversed much of the progress India has made in reducing poverty and, as is too often the case, it is the poorest and most marginalised children who have been hardest hit. As the pandemic continues to pose a serious disruption to children’s learning, any hopes they had of moving out of poverty are fast disappearing,” Mr Succhi said.
“What is even more worrying is … many more children will lose parents or family members, and more leaving them unable to cope.”
Meanwhile, Sydney doctor and cardiologist Yadu Singh is helping in another way using his medical skills to provide lifesaving guidance via phone, text and video chat
“I can’t treat people sitting in Australia,” said Dr Singh who comes from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
“Without seeing the patient, I can only guide them on what to do.”
But he said that is what he can do, guide, assist and give them hope.
UNICEF Australia this week launched the India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal to provide lifesaving assistance to people affected by the deadliest days of the pandemic so far in India.
“Families and communities in India are in desperate need of assistance,” UNICEF Australia’s
Director of International Programs Felicity Butler-Wever said
Click here to donate to Sandeep Pandit’s fundraiser
Click here to find out more about the UNICEF appeal
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