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COVID-19 Diaries: Simple Pleasures in a Slowly Reopening Australia

Phil Mercer

   SYDNEY - COVID-19 has turned Australia into a fortress. Its
   international borders were closed to foreigners in March to stop the
   spread of the new coronavirus, and Australians can only leave with
   special permission from the government.
   This is alien for a country of explorers. It is unnerving. Australians
   are inveterate travelers, and so am I.
   A much-anticipated family vacation to see relatives and friends in
   Britain and Ireland was canceled. We don't know when we will be able to
   go. No-one does. It might be next year, or the year after. Even a trip
   to see my father who lives across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand isn't
   possible, just yet.
   There are sound public health reasons for a country to shut itself off
   from the rest of the world during a pandemic, but the social and
   economic consequences are huge.
   Australia is one of the most multicultural places on Earth. More than a
   quarter of us were born overseas, and our family ties stretch to every
   corner of the world.
   We visit them, and they come to us, but not anymore. A plane in the sky
   over Sydney these days is something of a rarity. Very few people are
   flying, and aircraft are grounded.

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