ULTIMATE PROOF WE'VE BEEN TOO SLACK ON OUR BORDERS
We didn't close our borders until too late. We didn't screen all passengers for temperature or force them into monitored self-isolation. Then this: "Australian Border Force officials were responsible for a catastrophic decision to release 2700 cruise ship passengers... one of the largest single sources of coronavirus infections in the country."
We didn't close our borders until too late.
We didn't screen all passengers for temperature, force them into monitored self-isolation or track them.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told a confidential partyroom meeting on Tuesday that Australian Border Force officials were responsible for a catastrophic decision to release 2700 cruise ship passengers into the community...
Ms Berejiklian made the remarks as it emerged one passenger from the Ruby Princess died on Tuesday morning and at least 133 others had become infected with the virus — including one NSW man, Greg Butler, 56, who left the ship, travelled for six hours on public transport to Tamworth, and then fell ill days later while in quarantine...
Passengers from the ship dispersed across the country and overseas after passing through the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Sydney’s Circular Quay without being screened for the virus or having their passports checked...
Graded “low risk” by health officials on arrival, the cruise ship has become one of the largest single sources of coronavirus infections in the country...
After the ship docked, passengers were granted permission to disembark before coronavirus testing of 13 flu swabs had been completed...
The Australian can also reveal that the master of the Ruby Princess allegedly told Australian Border Force officials there were no sick people on board the ship as it pulled into Sydney, raising questions as to why an ambulance was on standby to transport a passenger — the woman who died — when the vessel docked at 2.29am.
Late on Saturday night, I arrived in Sydney from London via Dubai. I was alarmed by what I experienced. At the airport, there were few precautions taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus: no small group checking for symptoms, no thermal scanning of passengers, no individual temperature checks and little questioning by Australian Border Force staff...
There were no hand sanitiser stations as at Heathrow...
Like hundreds of other passengers, we compulsorily exited through duty free. There were no restrictions on handling alcohol, perfume, chocolate bars, clothing or kids’ toys....
COVID-19 information sheets were circulated on the plane and on arrival. We filled in a form agreeing to self-quarantine for 14 days and provided details of where we would be. After collecting our bags, we made for the exit within minutes. The questioning by Border Force staff was perfunctory and only a few wore masks.
By now, hundreds of Australians ordered home by the government could have infected others at many different contact points.
But it got worse. We then rolled our bags out into the arrival hall. I was stunned. It was filled with at least 100 people, some of them holding balloons, all bunched up together and waiting to pick up family and friends.
Unlike at many other airports, we are not taking every possible measure to limit infections. Even during our brief transit through Dubai, thermal imaging equipment was set up at different locations and passengers were being carefully monitored. Many countries are separating passengers into small groups for observation, using thermal scanners and undertaking individual temperature tests.
And this - Samara Gill, a returning student from a London university which had a coronavirus outbreak, says she sailed through our customs, did not have her temperature checked and her self-isolation was not monitored. In contrast, a fellow student returning to Hong Kong had to wear a tracking device:
- Starting at midnight on Mar. 19, Hong Kong will put all arriving passengers under a two-week quarantine and medical surveillance in an attempt to prevent more spread of the COVID-19 disease.
- Hong Kong’s government begun requiring the use of an electronic wristband, accompanied by a smartphone app, in an effort to enforce the self-quarantine measures.
A quarantine order is the strictest among the measures and is issued to those who are, or are suspected of being, a carrier of Covid-19.
This means the person has either been tested positive for the virus or has exhibited symptoms after returning from an affected country. They could also have come into close contact with a confirmed patient.
Quarantine usually occurs in the home, but can also be served in dedicated government quarantine facilities or hospitals.
Those under quarantine will be isolated from others, and should monitor their temperatures and report their health status to their quarantine order agent at least three times a day.
For those serving out orders at home, spot checks will be carried out by officers. If found to be non-compliant, they may be required to wear an electronic tag or be detained and isolated in a hospital.