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- Coronavirus pandemic
This was published 3 years ago
New cabin-style quarantine just a matter of ‘how big and where’ Andrews says
By Melissa Cunningham, Michael Fowler and Kate Lahey
Vacant fields near Avalon and Melbourne airports are being considered as sites for purpose-built COVID-19 quarantine accommodation based on the highly successful Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory.
The Victorian government revealed on Monday it wants to construct a cabin-style accommodation hub outside the CBD to replace the existing quarantine scheme after recent leaks of the coronavirus from hotels.
“It’s more than just scoping it, we are going to get on and build a facility,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.
“It’s just a matter of how big it is and the more precise details of where – but Avalon and Melbourne airports are stand-out candidates, and I’m very grateful to them for the partnership and work they’ve already done with us.”
Details of how the quarantine facility would be funded are yet to be determined, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday he would work with Mr Andrews on plans for the facility.
On Monday, Avalon Airport boss Justin Giddings said he was waiting to hear back from the state government after submitting a proposal.
Mr Andrews told reporters on Tuesday senior officials were advanced in the planning work, which will include investigating parcels of land near the two airports.
The announcement came while high-risk guests at a Holiday Inn quarantine hotel in Melbourne’s CBD were being moved to a new location after a water leak damaged four floors.
Mr Andrews said the proposed quarantine facility would be a cabin-style environment with ample fresh air for returned travellers, reducing the risk of airborne transmission.
“I think there is a compelling argument for this,” he said.
A Holiday Inn guest leaves the hotel with a bag over their head on Tuesday morning. Credit: Luis Ascui
“The two obvious candidates: Avalon Airport, you’ve got space and you’ve got an international terminal, and, of course, Melbourne Airport as well. We will pursue both of those, do that work, it’s well and truly under way, and we will report progress as that happens, but I think we do have to have a proper conversation at a national cabinet level.”
The new facility would contain single-storey structures, separate ventilation systems for each room, including windows and surfaces that are easy to clean, and separate staff facilities.
“We are actively pursuing and examining the construction of a purpose-built quarantine centre, a centre that would serve to replace ... maybe not entirely, but in significant part, the work of inner-city hotels,” Mr Andrews told reporters.
“This will be based in large part on the [Northern Territory] Howard Springs model. People would be in the same location, but not sharing the same spaces, so they’re not under the same roof.
“It would be a cabin-style, village-style environment, where there would be fresh air, where there would be not zero risk but lower risk,” Mr Andrews said.
“That work is ongoing and a delegation of senior officials will travel to the Northern Territory as soon as is practicable to see first hand how the Howard Springs facility is set up.”
The Premier said there was more land to build a purpose-built quarantine facility at Avalon Airport than Melbourne Airport, but he stressed it was too early to determine which site would be more feasible.
Mr Andrews said he would request assistance from the federal government and private sector, but could not provide a timeline on when the facility would be built.
“We’ll have some conversations with the Commonwealth and the private sector about how this can be a partnership and a joint venture,” he said.
“But it’s too early for us to say here is a plot of land. There is obviously space there [at Melbourne Airport], but there’s not as much space as there is at Avalon. The federal government and the NT government are currently in partnership to boost quite significantly the Howard Springs set-up so it absolutely can be done again.”
Mr Morrison said on Tuesday he would work with Mr Andrews on plans for the purpose-built quarantine facility, replicating his pledge to discuss Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s proposal to quarantine arrivals in the regional town of Toowoomba with her.
“We’ll continue to work with states on these issues as they wish to pursue them,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison then pointed out that seven other states and territories, along with New Zealand, have had “great success” with their hotel quarantine programs.
“When it comes to supporting the quarantine arrangement in NSW, they’ve operated hotel quarantine at triple the capacity of when Victoria was actually open,” he said.