Australian Defence Force personnel sent to Melbourne's quarantine hotels
The military will be sent to Melbourne’s quarantine hotels in an effort to stem a spike in Covid-19 cases.
The Victorian government requested military support from the Federal Government following a recent spike in infections, some of which have been linked to more than a dozen quarantine hotels where returned travellers are detained for 14 days upon arrival.
Up to 1000 Australian Defence Force personnel are being called on, with defence officials working with the state’s health authorities to determine how they would be deployed.
The move comes after concerns were raised about infection control standards at a number of quarantine hotels, which saw a cluster of community spread infections related to security staff at the hotels. It has been reported that at least 33 contractors have been infected while working at the Stamford Plaza and the Rydges on Swanston hotel. The security staff say they were not given adequate training or protective equipment.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said that all states were reviewing hotel quarantine standards.
"This will become an increasingly important part of our defence mechanisms," he said. "We have [to] ensure that those standards in hotel quarantine are absolutely at the highest level."
Sheridan Randall, 25th June 2020
