Xbox and patchy Wi-Fi: Inside the Christmas Island coronavirus quarantine centre
Daily life is far from splendid at the repurposed Christmas Island detention centre housing evacuees Wuhan, and there's one thing that seems like a greater threat than the deadly coronavirus.
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Things happen slowly on Christmas Island.
Most of the movement seems to come from the rush of migrating red crabs who outnumber humans 60,000 to one.
But if life is slow on Christmas Island itself, it’s a comparative frenzy to the beat inside the detention centre on the island’s northwest corner.
Here more than 270 evacuees are being quarantined as Australian authorities seek to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The days are dull for those behind the detention centre’s walls. The $400 million centre has a gym, basketball courts a tennis court and a hockey field. But the only thing occupying any of these facilities are the two isolation tents set up by the AUSMAT medical team.
While they are free to move around, most evacuees have chosen to self-isolate, remaining in their rooms to minimise contact with others and prevent possible infection.
A drive up a rough track and a trek through some dense scrub takes you to the only public vantage point to life inside the centre. A place locals call “media hill”.
From here photographers took the iconic images of rioting asylum seekers in 2015.
But the scene is far less dramatic today.
A few AUSMAT and Defence personnel can be seen wandering around and chatting. One kicks around a Sherrin to break up the monotony. Boredom seems a more present threat right now than the virus, but those inside know one confirmed case could change the mood quickly.
Occasionally an evacuee - wearing a face mask - will walk through the grounds. The masks are compulsory in the shared grounds but can be removed when inside.
Each room has two bunks with adjacent rooms sharing a toilet and shower. Some complained about the centre’s cleanliness after discoveries of cockroaches and moths, but AUSMAT staff say most are happy enough.
Evacuees have been given sunscreen as well as shorts, singlets and thongs - attire more suited if you’re outside in tropical Christmas Island than Wuhan. But most are choosing to stay indoors.
The days are long inside those rooms. The internet reception is confined to a small section of the centre. It’s patchy at best and can drop out for several hours at a time. Much of the
evacuees’ time is spent reading and writing. Some have been given video games to play on Xbox 360s.
Meals come three times a day - delivered to rooms to avoid human contact. The food has been bland - noodles, rice, cereal - but there is hope that will improve after a Defence C-130 Hercules delivered a bulk supply of fresh fruit and vegetables on Friday.
After breakfast AUSMAT staff, wearing full protective gear including masks, gowns and gloves, move through the rooms conducting temperature checks on all evacuees. It’s not quite a scene from Outbreak, but it’s a reminder of the potential danger at hand. Four people have been temporarily isolated after showing signs of illness but later cleared of having coronavirus.
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Life inside the Christmas Island detention centre is now a giant game of patience. Waiting for the 14 day quarantine period to end so they can return home to the mainland.
Outside the centre, things are busier than usual. The evacuees have brought with them a gaggle of media, bureaucrats, defence personnel and federal police. The roads are busier and the danger of being run over has increased for the red crabs that crawl across them. People on both sides of the detention centre’s wall are hoping things will soon return to normal.
Originally published as Xbox and patchy Wi-Fi: Inside the Christmas Island coronavirus quarantine centre