Ross Facility in Alice Springs set to quarantine interstate visitors
THE NT Government will use the 21-bed Ross Facility in Alice Springs to quarantine interstate visitors from July 17, but Alice hotels may still be used too
Centralian Advocate
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THE NT Government will be using dedicated quarantining facilities in Alice Springs to hold interstate visitors as a priority over hotel quarantine following Victoria’s failure in handling secure quarantine at hotels.
A spokesperson from the Department of the Chief Minister confirmed the Mercure and Aurora hotels in Alice Springs are currently being used for quarantine but better options are being looked at for when borders open.
“The Aurora Alice Springs and the Mercure Alice Springs are being used to accommodate people being supported by the Welfare Group to complete their quarantine requirements,” they said.
“The Northern Territory Government is currently working on plans and arrangements following 17 July 2020.”
The dedicated Ross Facility which is equipped with 21 beds will be used for quarantining interstate arrivals in Alice Springs.
The Centralian Advocate understands hotels could still be used for quarantining guests when borders open if there is a need.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner effectively banned all Victorians from coming to the NT when border measures ease on July 17 and said he doesn’t want to be complacent about using hotels for quarantine.
“I have asked all the staff and all the people involved in that process to be refreshed and retrained to make sure that when we go into that forced supervised quarantine, we don’t have any of the things that we’ve seen in Victoria occur here,” he said.
Victoria is currently under the grip of a surge of coronavirus cases with allegations the virus has spread partly due to mismanagement of hotel quarantine.
Mr Gunner said he doesn’t want the Territory to repeat the same mistakes as Victoria and the Ross Facility will be used as a priority for quarantine visitors.
“My understanding of what happened in Victoria is [they] had badly trained security guards or staff who had not received the right training essentially flout the rules.
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The Department of the Chief Minister could not confirm how many staff would be stationed at quarantine facilities across the NT.
“Mandatory supervised quarantine for hotspot arrivals is being worked out appropriately region by region,” a spokesperson said.
Central Land Council CEO Joe Martin-Jard said he believes shutting borders to Victoria is the right thing to do.
”The safety of Territorians demands no less,”he said.
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