Coronavirus Australia: Travellers can’t greet their loved ones, police warn

Aussies returning home aren’t allowed to have physical contact with loved ones, as police reveal two more people have been fined for breaching orders.

Police have issued an “unprecedented” warning to friends and family who may be planning to greet their loved ones as they fly back into Australia.

NSW Police say all travellers returning to Sydney International Airport from 6am this morning would not be able to see or have physical contact with loved ones upon their arrival.

“There are no areas in the Sydney International Airport in which family and friends will be able to see the returned travellers or make contact with them,” the statement said.

"The travellers will be processed discreetly before being taken to their nominated hotels.

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Loved ones will no longer be able to hug or reunite at the airport. Picture: Dan Pelle/AP

"They will then be able to get in touch with family and friends."

Officers said they understood it was an "unprecedented" step, but it was vital to "stop the spread of COVID-19".

It comes as the first Australians have been shuttled into makeshift quarantine facilities after arriving at the airport, as the government cracks down on self-isolation rules.

The first passengers to arrive since midnight are now leaving Sydney airport, and being escorted into buses. They will all be subject to 14 days in quarantine under police supervision. @TheTodayShow @9NewsSyd pic.twitter.com/TqqDveh5dE

— Bethan Yeoman (@bethan_yeoman) March 28, 2020

Anyone arriving in Australia must now be quarantined in hotels for two weeks before they are allowed to return home.

With two-thirds of Australia’s coronavirus cases from or closely linked to overseas travellers, vacant hotels and other accommodation services are being used to ensure no more travellers have a chance to spread the disease.

Returned travellers will live out their 14 days of quarantine in state-funded hotel rooms, with doors guarded by state police, defence personnel or private security guards.

In Sydney alone, 3000 people landed this morning.

First lot of international arrivals landing and being put on buses heading to hotels to be quarantined at Sydney international airport this morning, March 29 2020.

The military were called in to ensure rules were followed.

“We will treat these people with absolute respect and dignity but we will need their support,” NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said.

“The 14 days, I am sure, will be a challenge for them and perhaps the food is not up to standard or they feel that the bed is not as comfortable as their own.

“They need to understand that we are trying to protect the community of NSW.”

Meanwhile, other Australians aren’t taking the self-isolation rules quite so seriously.

A man and a woman have been fined $1000 each after allegedly ignoring their 14-day coronavirus self-isolation period following their arrival from Thailand.

Police said they issued a 22-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman with Penalty Infringement Notices yesterday after speaking to the couple at an address in Hillvue, western NSW, where they had been required to quarantine for two weeks.

Officers said the pair, who arrived in Sydney on a flight from Thailand on Tuesday, had travelled from Hillvue to Boggabri on Friday, where they came into contact with another person.

The two were each issued with a $1000 fine for failing to comply with a direction under Section 7 of the NSW Public Health Act.