Coronavirus NSW: Free hotels and parking for frontline healthcare workers
Health workers on the frontline of the coronavirus fight will be offered free accommodation so they can avoid spreading the illness to their families as part of a $60m state government initiative to enable health workers to live near hospitals.
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The state government will spend $60 million on free accommodation for our healthcare heroes so they can protect their families from COVID-19.
The money is part of a $100 million package of further help for frontline workers fighting the deadly coronavirus, which comes after The Daily Telegraph’s Frontline Heroes campaign called for more assistance for those putting themselves in harm’s way.
It can also be revealed that the Defence Force has committed to evacuating COVID-19 patients from small rural hospitals if needed, while the federal government is set to send 10 million extra face masks to the frontlines.
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Healthcare workers in the city are now being offered free parking after the Telegraph also called for this as part of the Frontline Heroes campaign.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian will today announce almost $60 million will be spent to offer frontline healthcare workers free temporary accommodation, so they do not have to risk bringing the infection home to their families.
Ms Berejiklian said providing free accommodation “is the least we can do to keep healthcare workers and their families safe”.
“Nobody should go to work and worry that it will put their families at risk, especially when they are working so hard to protect us,” she said.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the $60 million is money well spent.
“This gives health and hospital staff the peace of mind that they have somewhere to go if they feel unwell or want to take precautions to protect their families,” he said.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said frontline staff will be able to “choose what’s best in their own circumstances without worrying about a drain on their budget”.
Hotels have welcomed the announcement, declaring it will help keep workers employed at a time when business has sharply declined.
“It won’t see us return to full occupancy or anywhere near that, but it is a way for us to keep some staff on and for some hotels to remain open – and as I said, anything which helps our health system is worthwhile,” Tourism Accommodation Australia CEO Michael Johnson said.
Mr Johnson said occupancy rates across the country have halved in the last three weeks, with some capital cities seeing business fall by up to 90 per cent.
The government has also announced $36 million more to fund medical research and vaccine trials, to help find a cure. An extra $10 million will be spent to help businesses provide ventilators and other critical medical equipment.
The announcement comes as the Defence Force was put on standby to evacuate COVID-19 rural patients to ventilators in city hospitals following pleas from the Rural Doctors Association of Australia.
A spokeswoman for Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said: “Defence stands ready to assist if requested by state and territories.”
GPs and hospital staff, especially those in the bush, have also complained they do not have enough face masks to deal with COVID-19 patients.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government had secured 30 million new masks and would be distributing 10 million of those to health workers this week.
In another win, hospital workers, childcare educators, police officers, paramedics and fire officers will all be given free parking at Goulburn St and Kings Cross council carparks in the city.
A City of Sydney spokeswoman confirmed the council had so far handed out 1000 parking permits to essential services agencies to give to their staff members.
Royal North Shore Hospital registrar Sandy Jusuf said she was concerned about potentially infecting her husband and son Tommy, 3.
“I would definitely go to a hotel and leave Tommy at home with my husband. It makes it easier for us to be able to continue to do our job,” she said.