Byron Bay backpacker Michael Nash stranded in Aquarius lockdown

A traveller who was due to check-out from a Byron Bay hostel on the day it was locked down says guests are confined to their dorms and unsure of when they will be allowed to leave.

A one-night stopover has become a hostel lockdown for an English backpacker who is stuck in a room with four other men until health authorities set him free.

It comes as other hostel guests detail their experiences inside the snap lockdown.

Yorkshireman Michael Nash, 27, was travelling with a fellow English friend from Brisbane to Sydney when they stopped for a night at Aquarius Backpackers in Byron Bay.

He is one of 81 people who have not been allowed to leave the hostel since being identified as close contacts of a worker who tested positive to Covid earlier this week.

The detection caused the venue to be placed into a snap lockdown on Wednesday.

Mr Nash said he was stuck in his room, which he shared with four other men, until NSW Health set him free.

“I have been in Australia for over a year and a half and I’m coming down to Sydney to start a new job there,” he said.

He said his Covid test was completed about 2pm on Thursday.

“Me and my friend finally got our negative result via message at around midnight, the other three guys in our room got them too,” he said.

“We haven’t heard of any positive results yet, and I feel like most of us are double vaxxed.”

A “stop and stay” order on the venue led to everyone inside being tested for Covid on Thursday.

Mr Nash said he was told the place was going into lockdown just before he was due to checkout.

“Wednesday morning, we were ready to leave, and somebody came into the room to say that somebody had tested positive to Covid and we were to stay here,” he said.

“And then throughout the day the there were barriers and chains placed across the fence, to prevent anybody from leaving.

“We sat all day waiting, not really sure of what was going on.”

He said most of the 81 people in the hostel were Australians but there are also some South Americans, English and USA citizens.

Mr Nash said on Friday he still did not know when he would be leaving the hostel.

“We probably get more information from the outside world than we get from the inside,” he said.

“I hope we get an update today, but we keep hearing mixed messages.”

Mr Nash had visited Byron Bay in February last year, which prompted the stopover.

He said the lock in felt like a waste of time.

“Especially now that we have to stay in our rooms,” he said.

“In lockdown people are able to go out for a walk, but we are just here.”

He said he had largely avoided lockdowns having been in Queensland for the past 18 months.

“I’ve never been lockdown like this in a single place before,” he said.

“Obviously we had the first general lockdown when we were able to go outside, but this is the first time that I have been locked like this.”

“We may need two tests to leave, I’m not sure, other say it could be two weeks, I’m not really sure.”

Meanwhile, other guests caught in the lockdown said they were out of toothpaste and cleaning supplies as they remain confined to their dorms.

One traveller on Friday said he had not even slept a single night at the hostel before being forced into lockdown the day he arrived.

“I was then asleep when dinner was delivered, and they wouldn’t heat it up for me so I had cold food,” the man said.

“First world problem but it wasn’t great.”

The residents are confined to their dorms, which have an attached bathroom.

Up to eight people are in each dorm - slightly under the capacity of 10 per room.

“We’re out of toothpaste, the bathroom hasn’t been cleaned,” one female resident said.

“We don’t have cleaning supplies like spray and wipe.”

Another male resident in the same dorm said they were not given their first Covid test until 2pm Thursday.

“It’s a bit frustrating,” he said.

“They refuse to tell us when we’re going to get out, there’s not a lot of communication.”

Police are ensuring guests remain inside Aquarius Backpackers in Byron Bay. Picture: Liana Boss

Another dorm contained eight female international travellers who worked in Byron Bay.

They had lived in one of two dorms designated for long term residents for the past few months.

“It hasn’t been too bad, it’s a few days off work,” one woman said.

“We are getting the disaster payments while we can’t work.”

Northern NSW Local Health District chief executive Wayne Jones said all 81 guests and staff at the hostel had been tested for Covid-19 and offered a Covid vaccination.

“The vast majority of close contacts were already fully vaccinated,” he said.

“Health staff are providing advice to individuals about their isolation requirements, depending on their individual vaccination status and Covid-19 symptoms.”

Contact tracing and risk assessments are continuing, as well as investigations into possible alternative locations to support close contacts to self-isolate effectively.

Tweed Byron Police District officer Detective Chief Inspector Matt Kehoe said an operation to contain a possible Covid outbreak was not expected to hinder Schoolies celebrations.