Coronavirus Australia: Thousands of people still flying amid travel ban

As Australians are banned from leaving the country, thousands are arriving here by plane every day – and those who don't self-isolate are being dobbed in to the police.

More and more people are calling the police to dob in Australians arriving from overseas who refuse to self-isolate as the country ramps up its efforts to control the coronavirus outbreak.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Crime Stoppers had received an increasing number of reports of people not following instructions to self-isolate for 14 days after re-entering the country.

She said it was still the case that the majority of coronavirus cases in NSW were people who had arrived from overseas.

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Her warning comes a day after the death of a 77-year-old passenger on the Ruby Princess, which arrived in Sydney last week. There have been 133 confirmed cases among those on-board.

The woman is the seventh person to die from the virus in NSW.

"Every single agency needs to take responsibility on our borders. Whether it's a ship at a port, whether it's a plane load of people coming in from overseas," Ms Berejiklian said this morning.

"We're still having thousands of people coming in on planes every single day.

"Unfortunately many people who are coming in from planes or from other modes of transport have acquired the disease. We know that and that's why we're ramping up not just what we do at the borders, but also what we do once those people self-isolate because the vast majority are doing the right thing."

The premier said Crime Stoppers has seen "a number of calls increasing day by day from people who are rightly dobbing on someone on people who should be self-isolating".

"People need to know that this is not a joke, you need to take it seriously, lives depend on it," Ms Berejiklian said.

"If you need to self-isolate, or a contact of yours needs to self-isolate as a result of the contact they had with you, you need to adhere to the rules because otherwise can be an issue of life and death."

Yesterday, as he announced a complete overseas travel ban for Australians, Prime Minister Scott Morrison also had harsh words for people returning to the country who were flouting self-isolation rules.

“All those who are arriving — and the numbers who are arriving, are falling each day — all of them are required to go into self-isolation by public health order at a state level. They are required to do it. It’s the law,” he said.

“That’s where they need to go. That’s where they need to transfer to immediately, not to go via the shops, not to pop in and see a friend on the way home, not to go for a wander around the park.

Scott Morrison announced the ban among a raft of new measures designed to stop the coronavirus spread. Picture: Lukas Coch/Getty Images

“You go straight home and you self-isolate for 14 days. That is the law. That is the major protection that we have. That applies to every body, every Australian, returning citizen or resident.”

Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy echoed Mr Morrison’s disappointment, pleading with returning Australians to “stay at home”.

“Don’t go anywhere on the way from the airport or the cruise ship or wherever you are coming from,” Prof Murphy said.

“That is so important. The other thing that is important, if you are identified as the contact of a case and you are told that by a state and public official, and you are told to isolate for 14 days, you must isolate.”

Prof Murphy said some people were being told they had tested positive for the virus, but were still stopping at the supermarket or chemist on their way home.

“If you are isolating because you are a positive case or you’re a contact, you go home and you isolate and you obey those rules. That is a really, really important part of the control,” he said.

AUSSIES BANNED FROM LEAVING THE COUNTRY 

Advice to Australians not to travel overseas will become a full-blown travel ban, starting today.

Announcing a raft of new measures and restrictions designed to curb the country’s coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Scott Morrison last night announced Aussies would no longer be allowed to leave the country.

Prior to today, the Department of Foreign Affairs had a level 4 “do not travel” advisory for all overseas travel, which the PM said a small number of Australian travellers had ignored.

Australia's Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy also had harsh words for Australians ignoring advice. Picture: Lukas Coch/Getty Images

“We have previously had a do-not-travel warning on smart traveller in terms of all overseas travel — that will turn into a ban,” Mr Morrison said on Tuesday night.

“People shouldn't be doing it right now, that is the advice. No one should be getting on a plane and going overseas. We have been making the point for some time.

“The direction is being worked on overnight. As soon as that direction is signed off by the Health Minister, it will come into force then and that will happen tomorrow (Wednesday).”

He said there would be exceptions set out in the directive that would include people providing aid work to the Pacific, compassionate travel and essential work travel.

Mr Morrison said the ban was necessary because of a small number of Aussies defying the advice. He said he was struck by how many Australians were still going overseas, even though the number had “reduced dramatically”.

“The number of people and the number who are leaving Australia now is very, very low. But still, it strikes me on those numbers there are people defying that advice and looking to go overseas on leisure travel,” the PM said.

“They can’t, because when they come home they put Australians at risk. I thought that would have been fully complied with and Australians are pretty good but we need to put the arrangements in place.”