Simple, infuriating reason Victoria plunged into another lockdown

There is a simple but infuriating reason Victorians are today being plunged into another lockdown. Experts say it has to be changed.

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Victoria’s fourth lockdown is upon us, met with a mix of sadness and frustration from a public that remembers all too well the devastating impact of lockdowns gone by.

As Victorians confront the reality of a seven-day shutdown, the outpouring of anger is very real.

One infuriating aspect of what has developed over the course of a week is that all of it was avoidable.

The breakdown in Australia’s defence against the deadly pandemic is easy to identify – hotel quarantine.

States are trying in vain to keep an airborne virus locked inside hotel rooms designed for tourists rather than highly-infectious patients.

While they do so, the Morrison government remains uncommitted to establishing fit-for-purpose accommodation for returned travellers and overseas arrivals who have every right to be welcomed home safely.

As pressure mounted on the Prime Minister to act on Thursday, he said he was “highly favourable” of a Victorian plan for moving overseas arrivals out of hotels. But the planes are still coming in and the hotel rooms are filling up.

The outbreak – that grew by 11 cases on Thursday – has been linked back to a Melbourne man who contracted Covid-19 in hotel quarantine in South Australia.

He carried the virus to Victoria where it infected 25 others, so far.

Experts say outbreaks that threaten lockdowns will continue unless something changes.

Professor Adrian Esterman, an epidemiologist from the University of South Australia, voiced his concerns on Thursday.

“On behalf of South Australians, you have our apology,” he said. “This will keep happening until we fix the medi-hotel system and have proper purpose-build quarantine stations.”

The ABC’s resident coronavirus expert Dr Norman Swan said: “The complacency over hotel quarantine is scientifically and economically unsustainable. One leak and a state might be shut down.”

Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino did not back away from the issue when speaking to reporters on Thursday.

Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

“The reason we are dealing with this outbreak today is because of a hotel breach in South Australia,” he said, before noting that it was “not a criticism”.

“It is just a fact, we have had breaches in hotel quarantine right around our country.

“The only way through this pandemic is everyone getting vaccinated as quickly as you are eligible, and for the Commonwealth to agree to an alternative quarantine arrangement, particularly for high risk individuals and, in this case, we’re talking about a variant of concern.

“If we had an alternative to hotels for this particular variant of concern, we would not be here today.”

The alternative is a fit-for-purpose, open-air facility in each state and territory. Victoria has proposed building such a facility next to an existing pet quarantine site in the suburb of Mickleham, 30km north of Melbourne.

But the plan is on hold indefinitely because the site is on Commonwealth land and requires approval and funding from the federal government.

Melburnians have been plunged back into lockdown. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

The Andrews government has committed to spending $15 million on the project but wants it to be jointly funded. As Mr Merlino said on Thursday, the Morrison government has not yet given the go-ahead.

“We are waiting on the green light in terms of going ahead with the project and the Commonwealth funding,” he said.

Asked by a reporter whether Victorians “should be angry with the federal government for that”, Mr Merlino dodged the question.

“It helps no-one if I am just standing here blaming circumstances or blaming individuals or governments,” he said.

Others have done that for him.

Labor Senator Kristina Keneally told the ABC on Thursday that Scott Morrison was not doing enough.

“Let me tell the people of Melbourne today who are facing the prospect of another lockdown … (the PM) got a report nine months ago (saying) national hotel quarantine is not fit for purpose,” she said.

The PM says Hotel Quarantine has been 99.99% effective.

The 0.01% has sparked lockdowns/restrictions in most cities.

The 0.01% led to a 22% fall in the City of Melbourne's economy.

Howard Springs has a 100% success rate. No lockdowns. No deaths.

That 0.01% is wearing thin.

— Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) May 26, 2021

In #QT, Greens leader @AdamBandt labels the latest Victorian outbreak "a Morrison Government lockdown. We've done our fair share to stop the third wave, why haven't you done yours?" PM says Australia's Hotel Quarantine is among the most effective in the world. #[e-mail]/qMEhmXlAMb

— Naveen Razik 📰 (@naveenjrazik) May 27, 2021

This is spot on. You can tell the feds are being tight with the purse strings but it makes absolutely no sense. Quarantine suited to prevent airborne transmission needs to be a permanent fixture in our health system. https://t.co/9MbYZ0CJ9j

— Dr Vyom Sharma (Victorian ethnic mum) (@drvyom) May 26, 2021

“Hotels are for tourists, they’re not for quarantine for medical purposes. We now know so much more about this virus. We know that it is airborne. The Prime Minister … could be for example taking up Victoria’s offer of the Mickleham facility.

“He could be working with Queensland with their offer to work with him on a national quarantine system. Yet this is a Prime Minister who thinks this is not his problem.

“He wants to shove everything on to the states. Everything is somebody else’s responsibility and nothing is his fault. In an international pandemic, that is simply not good enough from our Prime Minister.”

The problem is not going away, nor are the incoming passengers from countries ravaged by Covid-19.

Another flight from India was due to land in Victoria on Thursday. Mr Merlino said there were no plans to halt international flights despite the lockdown.

“The flights coming into hotel quarantine will continue,” he said. “Hotel quarantine arrangements will continue and no changes in that space.”