Australia, New Zealand Ban All Foreigners From Entering Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Australia and New Zealand have banned entry for all foreigners in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus in the Oceanic nations, Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Jacinda Ardern, of Australia and New Zealand, respectively, announced on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2020) Australia and New Zealand have banned entry for all foreigners in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus in the Oceanic nations, Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Jacinda Ardern, of Australia and New Zealand, respectively, announced on Thursday.
"A travel ban will be placed on all non-residents, non-Australian citizens coming to Australia. That will be in place from 9 p.m. [21:00 GMT] tomorrow evening," Australia's Morrison said at a news conference.
Morrison added that the country has already seen the size of foreign arrivals shrink to one-third of its normal size this time of year because of multiple travel restrictions around the world.
Over in New Zealand, Ardern announced identical measures for all non-citizens and non-residents, expanding the ban to include Pacific Islanders, which had until then been exempt.
Australia currently has over 560 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with six deaths as a result, while New Zealand has just under 30 cases total with none fatal so far.