Australia’s COVID-19 Ban on Outbound Travel Branded an ‘Extreme Measure’: Report

While some Australians were satisfied with the response to the pandemic, the Human Rights Commission found several human rights breaches.

A nurse prepares a dose of the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19, donated by the United States, at a vaccination center in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala, on July 15, 2021. Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images

Australia was one of the few countries in the world that actually stopped people from leaving the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, says the Australian Human Rights Commission.

This was one of many findings in the Commission’s March 11 report “Collateral Damage,” which found human rights were commonly breached during the pandemic response.