Compared to the surge in the quarantine linked community transmission of the Covid-19 virus in Victoria, South Australia is fortunate. Its borders are tightly closed and the quarantine lockdown for returning overseas travellers has not been breached. So we live in a state bubble–though for how long is unknown.
It is a different world we now live in. The commonwealth’s government’s strict international arrivals cap, which was introduced in July to ease pressure on the hotel quarantine regime, means that many Australians who want to return to Australia are stranded overseas.
They are stranded because the international arrival cap has prompted the few airlines still offering international flights to prioritise business and first class passengers as a means to remain profitable. International flying has become very expensive and beyond the resources of many. The days of cheap air travel are over for some time, and our life for the foreseeable future is one of living in Australia within the closed state borders .