âTheyâve had long warning that COVID travels in the air and that these hotels are not fit for purpose.
âThey in fact had a report in April delivered to them which says this was the worst of the hotels, and a recommendation not to use it soon after.â
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The Victorian man with COVID-19 flew in to Melbourne on Wednesday, going directly home.
Authorities were on Friday working to contact everyone who flew on Qantas flight QF778 from Perth to Melbourne on Wednesday, with eight Qantas crew members already in isolation. Anyone who was at Melbourne Airport Terminal One at 6.30pm to 7.30pm on Wednesday must also isolate, get tested and remain isolated until they get a negative result.
Masks will be mandatory for everybody aged over 12, from 6pm today.
Pubs, clubs, bars, gyms, cinemas, entertainment venues, and outdoor recreational facilities will be shut down.
No visitors will be permitted in hospitals or aged care. Weddings and funerals can go ahead, but with a 100-attendee capacity.
The snap lockdown is in response to a man who was in hotel quarantine in Perth testing positive, then flying to Melbourne.
He completed his two weeks, visited a number of venues in Perth, and stayed with a friend who has also tested positive.
Positive COVID-19 case in Perth community
The COVID-19 case that sparked WA s snap three-day lockdown was moving in the Perth community for several days, presumed to be infectious.
CALL TO END THE HOTEL QUARANTINE ERA
Amid the regular leaks from hotel quarantine – including similar recent cases of guest-to-guest transmission in NSW – there is growing urgency in calls to establish dedicated quarantine stations similar to Howards Springs in the Northern Territory as a safer form of housing returned travellers. Australian Medical Association national president Omar Khorshid said he had concerns about infection control in all of Australia’s quarantine hotels, with the probable exception of Howard Springs. “Hotel quarantine was always a short-term measure and we’ve been calling for a while now governments to consider longer-term measures,” Dr Khorshid said.