A torrid row over Australia’s state border closures has pushed the country’s prime minister to tears, sparked bitter recriminations among rival regional leaders and even talk of secession. Travel between the nation’s independent-minded states and territories has been mostly banned since Covid-19 hit Australia in March. But an unhappy federal government is ratcheting pressure on premiers to open up, sending the argument into overdrive. Campaigning media coverage has highlighted the plight of grieving families separated by the closures and targeted state officials they deem responsible. One family facing a huge quarantine bill to see their dying father received over Aus$200,000 ($US148,000) in donations when their ordeal became public. The family of Mark Keans, who has terminal cancer, had previously been told only one of his four children would be able to enter Queensland to see him. The state currently blocks almost all arrivals from New South Wales — which it considers a Covid-19 hotspot. “How do you choose which child gets that chance to see their dad for the last time?” Keans’ sister Tamara Langborne told national broadcaster ABC. Such is the level of anger that Queensland’s chief medical officer has been forced to seek police protection after threats on her life.
یہ بھی پڑھیں پاکستان میں CoVID-19 سے 33 افراد زندگی گزار چکے ہیں۔
