To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Scott Morrison Suggests Vaccinated Aussies Could Get To Skip Hotel Quarantine

Scott Morrison Suggests Vaccinated Aussies Could Get To Skip Hotel Quarantine

The Prime Minister reckons you could do it at home but only if you've received the jab.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Scott Morrison has suggested a way for Australians to travel in a post-pandemic world without the need to do hotel quarantine when they get home.

The Prime Minister believes if you're vaccinated, you could skip the 14 mandatory and costly safety measure and instead do it from the comfort of your own home.

He's admitted nationwide vaccination won't be the 'silver bullet' in ridding the coronavirus from Australia, however that means they need to rethink how people come back into the country.

Mr Morrison told 6PR Radio: "What I'd like to see happen next, and this is what I've tasked the medical experts with, is ensuring that we can know when an Australian is vaccinated here with their two doses, is able to travel overseas and return without having to go through hotel quarantine.

"Now, I think we're still some time away from that. The states, at this stage, I'm sure wouldn't be agreeing to relaxing those hotel quarantine arrangements for those circumstances at this point in time."

People stuck in hotel quarantine.
PA

So while the Prime Minister has come up with the suggestion, it will ultimately rest with the individual state and territory leaders as to whether they'll set up the plan.

Depending on where you live in Australia, that could be a hopeful possibility or a distant pipe dream.

Mr Morrison admitted all the leaders will have to be in agreement before they're able to proceed with such a plan because internal borders would all be open at that point and they would need to be sure recent arrivals don't pose a risk to other states.

"Vaccinations are not a silver bullet. We've never said they are," he said. "And if we were to lift the international borders, then no doubt, and I was talking to the head of the AMA about this today, we would see an increase in the number of case numbers.

"So Australians have become very used to the fact, particularly here in Western Australia, of having zero case numbers and zero community transmission.

"If we were to lift the borders and people to come, then you would see those cases increase and Australians would have to become used to dealing with 1000 cases a week or more."

But you also shouldn't get excited about travel once everyone is fully vaccinated.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt warned international borders was a completely different kettle of fish to the vaccine rollout.

"Vaccination alone is no guarantee that you can open up," Mr Hunt said. "If the whole country were vaccinated, you couldn't just open the borders.

"We still have to look at a series of different factors: transmission, longevity [of vaccine protection] and the global impact - and those are factors which the world is learning about."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Australia