The Australian prime minister dismissed allegations of racism and blood on his hands Tuesday as he retreated from the threat of jailing Australians trying to escape Covid-ravaged India.
Scott Morrison's government has moved to ban travelers from India from entering Australia until May 15, threatening those who violate the rules, including Australian citizens, with jail.
Amid widespread backlash, Morrison said Tuesday that it is "highly unlikely" that Australians who have avoided a ban will be jailed.
"I think the likelihood of that happening is practically zero," Morrison said in a media blitz over breakfast Tuesday.
About 9,000 Australians are believed to be in India, where hundreds of thousands of new coronavirus cases are detected every day and the death toll is rising.
Among those trapped are some of Australia's most high-profile sports stars: cricketers who play in the lucrative Indian Premier League.
Cricket commentator and former Test cricket star Michael Slater was among those who fooled Morrison's decision, saying it was a "disgrace".
"Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us this way," she tweeted. "If our government cared about the safety of Australians, it would allow us to go home."
Morrison said the idea of having blood on your hands was "absurd".
"The dollar stops there when it comes to these decisions, and I will make decisions that I believe will protect Australia from a third wave," he said.
"I am working to bring them home safely," he added, indicating that repatriation flights could begin soon after May 15.
The decision went into effect Monday and was denounced by human rights groups and some of Morrison's most important allies, including Sky News commentator Andrew Bolt, who said it "reeks of racism."
Australia has largely averted the worst of the pandemic through some of the toughest border controls in the world.
There is an absolute ban on travel to and from the country unless an exemption is granted.
Mostly non-residents are denied entry and anyone entering the country must carry out a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine.
But that system has come under increasing pressure as the virus broke out of quarantine facilities and caused a series of outbreaks in the largely unvaccinated community.
The Conservative Prime Minister faces re-election in the next 12 months and hoped Australia's relatively successful handling of the pandemic would propel him to victory.
But India's travel ban and the implementation of a glacial vaccine have sparked criticism.
Australia has administered 2.2 million doses of the vaccine to a population of 25 million people, each of whom needs two doses to be fully immunized.
