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SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG) – Australian state police were to blame for two German nationals avoiding mandatory hotel quarantine upon arrival in Sydney before taking a flight to Melbourne.
New South Wales police reviewed the circumstances of the incident and identified that “they had incorrectly allowed the two travelers to go to Melbourne,” the force said in a statement Sunday.
“Police practices and systems at the airport have also been reviewed and strengthened as a result of this incident.” The couple, a 53-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy, arrived at Sydney International Airport at 9.45am on Saturday from Tokyo and were examined, police said.
After being cleared, all the travelers were directed onto a bus to the quarantined hotel, but the duo informed police that they had booked a flight to Melbourne, according to the statement.
Police allowed German travelers to take the domestic flight under standard protocols, he said. When they arrived in Melbourne, the couple were escorted to hotel quarantine because they were not in possession of the approved waivers, according to the police statement.
The Victoria Department of Health advised passengers and crew who flew with the quarantined travelers on Virgin Australia Flight 838, which arrived in Melbourne at 1.25pm on Saturday, to self-quarantine at home. Melbourne Airport is not a current risk to the public, the department said in a statement.
Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews told reporters early Sunday that initial Covid tests of the two travelers had produced a negative result and that another round of testing would be conducted on Monday.
Victoria recently emerged from one of the world’s toughest lockdowns after suffering a second severe outbreak of Covid-19. It has now gone 37 days without cases and Andrews on Sunday also announced a relaxation of the rules.
Starting Monday, masks will only be required on public transportation, ride-sharing vehicles and taxis, as well as indoor shopping malls and similar venues, it said in a statement. The density limits in pubs, restaurants and cafes will change to one person for every 2 square meters both indoors and outdoors, with no other limit. The use of electronic records (a QR code) will be mandatory.
“Until we have a vaccine, and even then, until we have a widely distributed vaccine, some aspects of these rules and restrictions must remain part of our reality,” the prime minister said.
Non-compliance probe
Earlier Sunday, Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said the fact that the two German nationals were discovered underscored the multiple layers of containment within the quarantine and border system.
“Ultimately these passengers have been picked up in those containment rings,” he told Sky News. “Frankly, we want to make sure that each ring is impregnable, which is why we have asked the Border Force commissioner to work with NSW to understand the circumstances.”
On a vaccine, Hunt said Australia was still on track to be available in March and said authorities would monitor the UK deployment and draw lessons from it.
Australia is a “great vaccine nation,” Hunt said when asked if enough community members are likely to accept it. He cited exceptionally high rates recorded this year.
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