Revealed: Red Centre coronavirus hotspot arrivals quarantined in hotels
A STEADY stream of interstate arrivals undertaking mandatory quarantine in Alice Springs after coming into the Territory from interstate coronavirus hotspots have been quarantined at a local hotel
Centralian Advocate
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UPDATE: A steady stream of interstate arrivals undertaking mandatory quarantine in Alice Springs after coming into the Northern Territory from interstate coronavirus hotspots have been quarantined at a local hotel.
The government’s main quarantine facility — the Ross Facility — is being reserved for people with high care needs.
EARLIER: Thirty interstate arrivals from coronavirus hotspots completing supervised quarantine in Alice Springs will be spread between the Ross Facility and a local hotel.
A total of 143 people are in enforced quarantine in the NT and 30 of those were in Alice Springs as of Monday morning.
The NT Government has designated the Ross Facility, which is equipped with 21 beds, as its main quarantine site for interstate travellers who are from or have travelled through hotspot areas in Victoria and New South Wales in the past 14 days.
A spokeswomman for the Mercure Alice Springs Resort confirmed the hotel was currently accommodating people who needed to quarantine, but would not confirm how many interstate arrivals were staying there.
The Aurora Alice Springs Hotel has also been used for quarantining arrivals in the past, but the Centralian Advocate could not confirm if people from hotspots were currently completing their supervised quarantine there.
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A COVID-19 Operations Centre spokesman said mandatory quarantine facilities were being managed by Territory Families, with close support from health, police and commercial partners.
“The (Ross) facility is staffed by NT Government employees 24 hours a day,” he said.
“The Ross Facility has been reserved for people with high care needs.
“Anybody from a hotspot location who enters the Territory is required to undertake mandatory supervised quarantine at their own expense.”
NT Chief Health Officer Hugh Heggie said he had worked at the Ross Facility in the past and it had a number of beds and rooms.
“We have got other facilities in Alice Springs that can deal with the numbers coming across the border for mandatory supervised quarantine,” Dr Heggie said.
“Howard Springs (in the Top End) is a very, very large footprint, and it’s been opened up to allow for different areas, including those people who need to quarantine, but also those who are in isolation and not spread the virus to others.”
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The Central Australia Health Service was contacted for comment but did not respond before deadline.
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