Strict Australian border restrictions "plain disgraceful"
Source: Xinhua | 2020-09-12
Australia's Finance Minister has described the Queensland Government's recent handling of its border closure "just plain disgraceful".
Mathias Cormann said on Friday that Australians needed to be careful that they do not "lose their humanity" during the coronavirus crisis.
His comments came after the Queensland Government refused to grant 26-year-old Canberra woman Sarah Caisip an exemption to leave hotel quarantine under strict border restrictions so she could attend her father's funeral on Thursday.
"What happened here is just plain disgraceful. I am sure that would be the overwhelming view of people all around Australia," he told Sky News Australia, accusing Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of prioritizing her political interests ahead of the state election.
"That is entirely driven by the fact that there is an election in Queensland in October."
"All States should be practical, common-sensical and empathetic and proportionate to the risk that is actually there rather than just focusing on the political approach."
Also on Friday, Palaszczuk said she had lost loved ones during the pandemic and understood what people were going through, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"These are difficult decisions and they're heartbreaking," she said.
"I'm human just like everyone else. These issues hurt me deeply.
"They hurt me deeply because during this pandemic I have lost loved ones as well. I know exactly what people are going through."
As of Friday afternoon there had been 26,565 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, and the number of new cases in last 24 hours is 56.
There were nine new deaths from COVID-19 reported since Thursday, all of which were in Victoria, the hardest-hit state by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, taking Australia's death toll to 797.
Of the new cases, Victoria confirmed 43 and New South Wales confirmed 10 cases.
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