Queenslandâs Hotel Quarantine worker who tested positive to COVID-19 earlier today, is now confirmed to have the highly contagious UK strain of the virus.
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Oh shit 
âClose the border NSWs and Victoriaâ lol
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How long will we persist with hotel quarantine knowing it just doesnât work well enough? Seriously?
The states and territories hands are tied and itâs pretty clear that with exception to Howard Springs that the feds donât want to get involved.
If the Melbourne outbreak changed nothing, than I canât imagine anything else will - especially when we have groups like the AMA demanding that home quarantine get introduced for international travelers as opposed to alternate solutions.
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The point remains unless everyone involved from the transport to cleaners to aviation crews remain in a strict bubble, away from everyone else, including their families, this wonât work as intended.
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at the very least we should be banning flights from the UK, like we did for China, so many other countries have, and the UK clearly poses a unique threat. Just until Feb when their lockdown kicks in and vaccines are more rolled out.
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I am still in isolation awaiting my notification SMS after being tested yesterday morning.
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I still think the answer to this is travellers proving they tested negative before travelling.
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Do we build new quarantine facilities outside our capital cityâs which could take a few months to set up or build?
The state and federal governments are hopping to have all airline & quarantine staff vaccinated by February/ March. This will help reduce the risk for the virus spilling over into the community. But itâs clear that hotel quarantine in our highly populated cityâs isnât working.
At this point is home quarantine a better option rather than having hundred of workers coming in and out of the quarantine facilities?
Strap an ankle monitor on those in home quarantine and track their movements?
I think something like this was suggested in the Vic hotel quarantine inquiry?
Christmas Island only good enough for brown people?
There was talk in America of getting movie stars and NASCAR drivers to get theirs on camera to help convince people that it was safe and ok
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Proixmity to medical facilities was raised as a concern when it was used 10 months ago
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Iâm not too sure it could handle 8k citizen arriving every week. A series of massive upgrades of infrastructure would be required, again this would take time to implement and build.
Surprised that is never brought up when brown people are kept there⌠But yes that may be an issue.
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Moving one patient onshore for treatment is easy. Moving dozens of intubated patients all at once because a particularly nasty strain of the virus has swept through not so much, especially given WA is the only feasible destination and has seemingly minimal ability to treat or manage cases.
Also Christmas Island is a long way away. Like a really long way, further from Perth than Auckland is from Sydney. Itâs just not feasible logistically to be ferrying people and resources back and forth over such a large distance.
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Logistically it would be too challenging, not only because of its isolation / limited medical facilities but the feds would have to charter a signficant number of aircraft (which all must fly via Perth due to no ability to refuel at Christmas Island) to effectively move people off and on the island on a daily basis.
The facilities barely hold 2000 people (really closer to 1000 when you consider its likely that people paying for quarantine would be better treated than asylum seekers) so no doubt theyâve decided its not worth the tens of millions that would be needed to keep it operating.
Yep it sure was. And I do get why it was rejected initially but with frequent breaches in hotel quarantine are better placed to trust returning citizens will do the right thing and stay home rather than having hundreds of workers come and go from a facility where they risk infection?!
I donât see why there canât be hotel quarantine as long as they have returned a negative test before travelling.