Date Time
Australian Health Protection Principal Committee statement on Australia’s National Hotel Quarantine Principles
Hotel quarantining was mandated by National Cabinet on 27 March 2020. Australia’s utilisation of hotel quarantine arrangements has proven to be highly successful – approximately 2,200 cases out of 164,714 arrivals have been diagnosed[1] and managed with very few documented transmissions into the community.
Quarantine arrangements have limited the spread of COVID-19 to the Australian community when compared to many nations around the world. However, as transmission of infection can lead to serious outcomes including outbreaks, governments must continue to manage risk to prevent transmission in hotel quarantine.
Throughout Australia’s response to COVID-19, the following reviews relevant to hotel quarantine were undertaken:
Description
From early this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments all over the world were grappling with how to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and avoid overburdening health systems and workers in such a connected world.
Commonly used measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout 2020 have included social distancing, lockdowns and restrictions on the movement of people in the community plus, in the case of people entering a country from overseas, a period of quarantine.
These measures have been, and continue to be, used across Australia. Of significance to the work of the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry was the 14-day period of mandatory quarantine that was announced on 27 March 2020 and implemented for all international arrivals into Victoria from 29 March 2020.
No accountability
The final report into the program was unable to determine who made the decision to hire private security, which caused the second wave in Victoria after private security infected with COVID-19 spread it in the community. No person or agency claimed any responsibility for the decision to use private security as the first tier of security, the report reads. All vigorously disputed the possibility they could have played a part in the decision . The Premier and former Minister (Jenny) Mikakos said they played no part in the decision. Minister (Lisa) Neville was aware of the proposal but not responsible for it and Minister (Martin) Pakula appears not to have been told until after private security had been engaged.
Jenny Mikakos said Daniel Andrews is using political deflection amid hotel saga
Final report into the doomed hotel quarantine scheme was tabled in Parliament
Inquiry had heard no one knows who made the call to use private security guards
Ms Mikakos said Mr Andrews should take responsibility for the bungled program
Mr Andrews on Monday said that he would not resign as the Premier of Victoria
Final report into the doomed hotel quarantine scheme tabled in Parliament
Premier Daniel Andrews ought have been able to say who made decision
Inquiry heard cop Graham Ashton likely came up with the idea to go private
Calls for a full blown royal commission into the scandal are well underway
Inquiry had heard not a single minister, staffer or cop knows who made the call
Mr Andrews on Monday said he would not resign as premier of Victoria
Health department continues to make embarrassing errors on basic text service