New restrictions for people travelling to or from Iran have been announced following advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) as part of nationwide efforts to protect Australians from coronavirus, now known as COVID-19.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) raised its travel advisory level for Iran from level 3 to level 4 – ‘do not travel’ – in line with the new restrictions which see foreign nationals (excluding permanent residents of Australia) who were in Iran on or after 1 March unable to enter Australia for 14 days from the time they left or transited through Iran.
“Australian citizens and permanent residents will still be able to enter, as will their immediate family members (spouses, legal guardians or dependants only),” the Department said.
“They will be required to self-isolate at home for 14 days from the day they left Iran.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said measures that could slow the import of COVID-19 cases into Australia would enable preparatory measures and a public health response to the initial cases to continue.
“We believe that travellers from Iran represent, at this time, a materially greater risk of COVID-19 importation than any other country outside China,” Mr Morrison said.
He said current travel restrictions regarding mainland China had been successful in reducing travel volumes and would continue.
“This is a specific temporising measure for an unusually high-risk country and further travel restrictions are unlikely to be effective at reducing importation,” Mr Morrison said.
He said the travel restrictions for Iran were now consistent with those in place for China.
