âAnd those skilled workers play a very important role across the economy, but weâre not going to compromise public safety, or indeed the economic recovery, by moving ahead of the medical advice.â Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected the idea of a âfortress Australiaâ in comments on Sunday to correct media reports saying he wanted the border to stay closed in order to eliminate COVID-19. Advertisement âAustraliaâs COVID suppression strategy has not changed to an âeliminationâ strategy nor is âzero casesâ our goal as reported,â he said on Facebook. âThere will always be cases as we return Australians home from overseas. International borders will only open when it is safe to do so.â