Coronavirus medi-hotel bill revealed as leaked documents show Transition Committee’s wide-ranging concerns at quarantine program

COVID-19 authorities are concerned about the level of foreign travellers arriving in SA, leaked documents show, as the medi-hotels bill is revealed.

The number of foreign travellers arriving in South Australia has raised concerns among the state’s top coronavirus authorities, leaked documents show.

On the eve of the anniversary of SA’s first medi-hotel opening, confidential government papers lay bare issues the COVID-19 Transition Committee had with travel risks.

After repeated requests over the past two months, SA Health this week also disclosed partial medi-hotel costs.

Taxpayers have been billed $41.2m over six months to December last year.

The Pullman medi-hotel opened on April 20 last year. The bill also doesn’t include the Tom’s Court infectious patient facility cost that opened in February.

Taxpayers will likely face an annual quarantine cost closer to $100 million.

Transition Committee minutes, obtained by the Sunday Mail, reveal how members in January heard that “all data sources on international arrivals still indicate low levels of Australian passport holders”.

A patient leaving the Pullman Hotel, which was the first medi-hotel launched in South Australia. Picture: Mike Burton

The papers, marked “confidential: not for further distribution”, show the committee debated behind closed doors in recent months other concerns on the:

LEVELS of non resident/non-citizen arrivals;

PERSISTENT risk of overseas visitors in Australia after not quarantining in their port of arrival. Authorities vowed to close the loophole after national Cabinet talks;

RELATIVES of non resident/non citizen arrivals sent to SA for hotel quarantine;

CAPACITY in hotel quarantine to accommodate more international arrivals; and

LACK of reliable data on overseas arrivals, how travel was approved despite presenting a significant risk while no information was available on travellers’ residency, origins or onward travel plans.

Under federal law foreign nationals must apply for exemptions but Commonwealth caps mean thousands of Australians are stranded overseas.

Australian Border Force data shows a fifth of arrivals, on average, during the pandemic have been foreigners.

All non-Australian visas must be endorsed by state governments, the papers show.

In November, SA’s worst outbreak, the Parafield cluster and the statewide lockdown, was sparked by a virus leak at the city’s Peppers medi-hotel.

Over the past year, SA Health has supervised 18,098 people in seven medi-hotels including travellers and people linked with clusters.

From July last year, travellers were charged at least $2800 for their mandatory fortnight hotel quarantine.

Until then taxpayers paid $3.5m to house travellers.

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton criticised the secrecy.

“Taxpayers are still spending huge sums on temporary hotel,” he said. “The State Government should be fully transparent on the price-tag for taxpayers of the medi-hotel program.”

Health Minister Stephen Wade said the costs would be published when financial year data was reconciled mid-year.

A passenger from Singapore arrives at the Pullman medi-hotel in December last year. Picture: Tait Schmaal

“Our medi-hotel system has been key to bringing Australians home and keeping South Australians safe during the pandemic,” he said.

Deputy chief public health officer Emily Kirkpatrick praised “frontline heroes”.

“Given the high rate of transmission overseas, and the increasing number of variant strains, quarantining of international arrivals remains a critical line of defence,” she said.

An SA Police spokesman refused to supply any arrivals data as he said it had no part in Commonwealth government-controlled border policies.

Assistant police commissioner Noel Bamford was to “provide the most recent statistics” to the committee for federal talks, the minutes state.

He last week said he did not provide the committee any such “verified data or reports”.

An ABF spokesman said the government’s “first priority is bringing Australians home”.

He said Australia’s border rules “support our efforts to return as many Australians as possible” through a “very limited range of exemption criteria” for foreign nationals with critical skills or having compassionate grounds.

The transition committee, chaired by Department of Premier and Cabinet Nick Reade, comprises chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier, SA Health boss, Dr Chris McGowan and other senior public servants.

They recommend the easing of virus restrictions to state co-ordinator and fellow committee member, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, who then authorises new legal directions under emergency laws.