Tourists gather to watch the sunset at Uluru in 2019 Saeed KHAN AFP/File |
Sydney (AFP) - Indigenous residents forced the closure
of Australia's famed Uluru national park Tuesday, after blocking tourists from
accessing the sacred site amid fears over the spread of coronavirus.
About 30 members of the local community physically
blocked dozens of tourists arriving from virus-hit eastern Australia from
accessing the park entrance, said Glenn Irvine, manager of Mutitjulu Community
Aboriginal Corporation, which handles local community issues.
Locals said they were blindsided by the arrival of 43
tourists on a flight from Brisbane, Queensland and decided to take action.
"We were of the understanding that the flight was
cancelled," Irvine told AFP.
"We asked for the national park to be
closed," he added. When that did not happen, "members of the community
gathered at the park gate".
After crisis talks with local authorities Tuesday, the
park remained closed.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park said in a statement:
"We have the utmost respect for Uluru-Kata Tjuta's traditional owners and
are continuing to work in good faith with them and all other parties to keep
Mutitjulu residents safe."
More than 395,000 people visited the park in the 12
months to June 2019, according to Parks Australia.
Irvine said there was now tacit agreement that the
tourists -- who remained nearby -- would be tested for the virus and no more
groups would come from COVID-19 "hotspots".
Queensland has recorded just over 1,000 cases of the
virus since the pandemic began and new cases have been relatively rare.
But even in areas where tourism is a mainstay of the
local economy, many Aboriginal groups are fearful that any outbreak could badly
hit remote Outback communities.
Travel to the Northern Territory, including Uluru --
once known as Ayer's Rock -- has been severely restricted since the pandemic
began.
Those measures were recently eased, but visitors from
Australia's COVID-19 hotpots are still required to quarantine for 14 days.
Brisbane is currently included on that list.
Overseas travellers remain banned from entering
Australia except for some very closely prescribed cases.
Australia recorded 453 new cases Tuesday, taking the
total to 18,728 with 10,787 recoveries. The
death toll is now 232, after 11 more fatalities.
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