Coronavirus: Woman with COVID-19 caught train to Castle Hill
A young Sydney woman diagnosed with COVID-19 is shocked at how easily she was allowed to leave the airport without strict testing measures.
Parramatta
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A woman who unknowingly contracted COVID-19 on a flight travelled by train from Sydney Airport to Castle Hill station. She was not tested at the airport to see if she was infected.
Rose Esber, 25, who arrived in Sydney from Edinburgh via Doha on Saturday March 21 at 7am with Qatar Airlines QR906, believes she contracted the disease on the plane.
Passengers did not have their temperature checked.
Ms Ember would normally have gone to her home at Oatlands but self-isolated in her brother’s apartment in Castle Hill.
The journey from Sydney International Airport station to Castle Hill takes 75 minutes and requires catching three trains, with changes at Central and Chatswood.
Ms Esber’s father, Parramatta councillor Pierre Esber, said she was shocked how quickly she could pass through customs and the passport check without receiving any testing.
“She was amazed because she was watching it online overseas,” he said.
“They should be testing everybody that gets off the plane now but they were trying to get home before the curfew.
“It’s just interesting how they were getting through without being tested.”
From Friday, March 20, strict travel bans were enforced, only allowing Australian citizens to fly home.
Ms Esber, who was on a working holiday in Scotland, arrived home to attend her niece’s christening but that will now be postponed following social distancing measures.
Mr Esber said his daughter lost her sense of taste on Tuesday and underwent testing but was recovering in self isolation.
“She’s in good spirits,’’ he said.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced more restrictions that require Australians travelling from overseas to be quarantined in hotels across the country for two weeks of self-isolation.