Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday defended his government’s decision to ban and impose a jail term and a penalty for Australian citizens trying to return from India, saying it is in the country’s “best interests” and to prevent a third wave of infections.

The Australian government, for the first time in history, recently imposed a ban on its citizens from returning home, if they have spent time in India up to 14 days before flying back.

The government threatened to prosecute them with a possibility of five years of jail term or a penalty of 66,000 Australian dollars, which equals USD 50,899.

Morrison said this is a temporary arrangement and a very difficult decision. "It has been put in place to ensure that we do not get a third wave here in Australia and that our quarantine system can remain strong," he said, adding that it is in the country's "best interests". He said that he feels terribly for the Indian community.

''We've seen a seven-fold increase in the rate of infection of those in our Howard Springs facility coming back from India.

"It's important that we ensure that we have a temporary pause here to strengthen those arrangements in those quarantine facilities, get stronger testing arrangements, both when leaving India but also on people coming from third countries," Morrison said. He said that he wants to get those repatriation flights running safely again.

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