International travel for Australians

Are you asking me jaylucy? I wouldn’t go anywhere long haul at the moment, in fact I’m not even going anywhere in this country yet. I’m hoping to go to a Greece in September but we’ll have to wait and see what the situation is then. I’ve had Covid, I’ve been vaccinated twice, I’m not afraid I’ll catch it again, but there are new variants to consider, although I’m not overly afraid because the scientists have said the vaccine should be effective against all the variants up to now. It’s that little word should that I have to consider.

Yes, I'm certainly far from alone in being separated from family. We stay in touch by phone though. Got to make the most of what we do have.

I’m so sorry you haven’t seen your family. There are many both on here and not on here who are suffering the same way.

I have a friend who is Australian , who lives in Thailand and he says the situation with the Covid virus is somewhere on a par with India - their immunisation programme has been all but cancelled - there is some system for the foreigners that live there to be immunised, but to be vaccinated, they have to travel only to certain places. But several regions have been placed into total lockdown so travel is not allowed.
So you think that it would be ok to travel there for a holiday?

CafeAuLait you are absolutely right, places such as India are having an extremely difficult time. That’s why the vaccination schemes are so important, because I don’t think we’ll get over this virus as a world anytime soon without vaccination everywhere.

maddyone, other than my children and husband, all my family is in the UK. I haven't seen my mother for over a year and a half and there is no end in sight for that. I do worry what happens if she gets ill. I know I won't be able to go.

I'm very grateful for the current normal we have compared to some parts of the world. We have worked hard to get there and my heart breaks for places like India. The world has and continues to suffer a lot.

Maybe countries like Australia and New Zealand want to get through their winter months before deciding how to proceed. That pretty much takes them into 2022 anyway.

I loved Sydney and Melbourne when we visited. Here at home I feel very cut off from the rest of the world, even though I wouldn’t travel abroad right now, even if it were allowed. One of the countries we could travel to freely from next week is Israel, but much as I’d love to visit Jerusalem one day, with war about to break out, it’s an unlikely destination for anyone now. Those poor people, they just about got over Covid and now there’s war.

CafeAuLait, apologies, I thought it was just your opinion. I understand about lockdown, we were told not to leave our homes except for essential shopping and a daily walk/exercise. It was difficult. I didn’t visit my elderly mother for twelve weeks in the first lockdown as we weren’t allowed to visit anyone. We put her shopping on our Click and Collect and our son collected it and delivered hers to her front door. Many people here have lost their jobs or taken a cut in income, despite a generous furlough scheme. We made a bubble with her when they were allowed, so we could visit her, that is just myself and my husband. She picked up Covid after a fall and hospitalisation, and passed it to myself and my husband. I was the only one who was really ill and hospitalised with it. Now all this is over, I just want to get back my life and get back to normal and that’s why I wonder if Australians are happy to put up with being cut off for so long, and the inevitable job losses which will go along with no real tourist industry, and for those who have family abroad, not being able to see any possible signs that they may see them any time soon. And all this because people don’t want to accept the AZ vaccine, and from what Nanna8 has said, a poorly organised vaccine programme.

I just assume I can't leave. Not that I would if I could at this time.

Excuse typos

It's had a huge impact everywhere and governments have reacted differently to the Covid situation, only time will tell what was the right approach, of any.

I do realise that, as claimed earlier in the thread, travel is still allowed in and out of Australia - otherwise there would none no need for quarantine hotels. However, claiming it is as simple to leave as claimed by one poster upthread is not really credible as we all know how restricted it is and Government permission is required and not easily obtained even for family reasons.

International scheduled passenger traffic in February 2021 was 51 613 compared to 2.805 million in February 2020 – a decrease of 98.2 per cent. International air services this month have been severely impacted by travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian Government statistics

As far as the economy, I have done what I can to help support local businesses and anyone in need that I became aware of. I have made sure to chat with people outside who I know live alone.

I'm not sure why taking the pragmatic approach of just rolling with it as it comes is problematic. I'm short on emotional energy due to life circumstances so that's self-preservation as well.

maddyone

^I don’t worry too much about what the future brings. It’s all a big unknown and I’m just taking it as it comes and adapting as we go.^

Theoretically that’s fine, but it’s only about you. What about people whose jobs have disappeared? What about the economy?

Actually, it's not about me. I have people I am the active carer for (not minor children) who have really suffered and been set back by this whole thing. We had months where we couldn't go more than 5km from home. I took a five digit pay cut last year because of it all. Young adults in my immediate family had training extended and health support cut short. My life is tough and never about me.

I just know that this is not in my control so am just rolling with whatever the situation is at the time and adapting. It seems the most pragmatic approach. It's not like I can make Covid disappear. I just need to deal with the challenges I face as I can.

The 1918 influenza evolved to a less virulent form and is still with us. Maybe Covid will do the same? Only time will tell.

I don’t worry too much about what the future brings. It’s all a big unknown and I’m just taking it as it comes and adapting as we go.

Theoretically that’s fine, but it’s only about you. What about people whose jobs have disappeared? What about the economy?

Callistemon perhaps you’re right, but if as said, the virus will always be with us, what then? Australia closed off forever?

I don't feel that hotel quarantine is going all that well. I think it's better than not doing it but too many cases have come through that were contracted in quarantine.

Under 50s have been advised not to get AZ, so I don't think it's necessarily just that people are scared to get it. Do we have enough Pfizer for all that group? Not as far as I'm aware. Not that most under 50s are eligible yet anyway.

I don't worry too much about what the future brings. It's all a big unknown and I'm just taking it as it comes and adapting as we go.

Oh dear, nanna8
I thought they were being so strict.

Do countries seriously want to live cut off from the rest of the world forever because of reluctance to accept a vaccine?

Perhaps they're hoping for herd immunity in the rest of the world!
They have said the vaccination programme could take 30 months but I think the uptake could be low.

It’s panic stations again here today because someone caught it from the person next door to them in hotel quarantine. Which shows just how inefficient using hotels with shared aircon is. I would be furious if I had travelled all the way back home from India ,free of the virus, only to catch it because of the inadequate hotel facilities . This person came to Melbourne and unknowingly went to several restaurants,travelled on trains and went about their normal life. Aaargh. They were too slack to do proper contact tracing, half the people hadn’t signed in to the restaurant etc. Just hope and pray no one picks it up because we truly couldn’t cope with a lot of cases. People die waiting for ambulances as it is and that is without Covid.

It’s one thing not allowing people to leave, but to deny citizens the right to return home is disgraceful. Especially considering that they’d do a two week quarantine when they arrived.

We haven’t accepted tourists for quite some time so I am not sure how the person a previous poster mentioned got in.

I've been wondering that, too, nanna8 as permission to leave is not being granted even for family emergencies and other Australians have been waiting for months to get home, stuck overseas.
I know visas have been extended for those who were on 1 or 2 year working visas and unable to leave.

Callistemon that is a worry I think, and Nanna8 has said a few times I think that people are afraid of the AZ vaccine. If they feel safe enough without a vaccine then they won’t perhaps have it, little realising maybe that unless they live in a state of permanent locked borders, so never being able to travel or receive travellers (often family) they will then impact their lives hugely and inevitably affect their economy. Do countries seriously want to live cut off from the rest of the world forever because of reluctance to accept a vaccine?

Yes, I remember that, right at the beginning.

Short lockdowns in some places as in Brisbane as soon as a case or two do emerge, seem to have worked so far.
The Queensland border was closed for some time I believe.

I know that there has been a big impact re jobs,
although DGC's school was only shut for about 2 weeks

I just worry, with relatively few cases compared to some other countries, people may not feel the need for vaccination, the roll-out is slow anyway and this virus is not going away, that Australia may feel the impact later.