Coronavirus: 350 guests evacuated from Sydney quarantine hotel
More than 350 returned travellers in a Sydney quarantine hotel are being evacuated after complaints to police about lax hygiene standards.
More than 350 returned travellers in a Sydney quarantine hotel are being evacuated after complaints to police about lax hygiene standards.
NSW Police said the Travelodge Hotel in inner-city Surry Hills “did not meet the expectations required as part of the quarantine program”.
The guests were being moved to the 4½-star hotel Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour.
The operation, which began on Tuesday night, was expected to take 12 hours.
Luke Smith, 27, who checked into the budget hotel on Monday said he found a bloodstained mattress, mould on his bin and hairs on the carpet.
“I’m really excited about it (leaving the hotel) and to be moved into a place that is fit for humans,” he told The Australian.
“It was a bit like Big Brother, with an announcement coming over the hotel loudspeaker saying we would be transferred out.”
“It felt like you wanted to wear shoes the whole time. It was pretty disgusting.”
Mr Smith paid $3000 for his mandatory quarantine.
“It’s not right to be paying for this, locked up in a room. It raises concerns when the bathroom is unclean, there is hair on the bed. It’s a big hygiene hazard as well.”
Polar expedition leader Lauren Farmer, 38, said she was distraught when she checked into the TraveLodge on Friday to discover mouldy ceilings and unclean surfaces.
“The bathroom and shower floor with filthy with grime. All the door handles were sticky. There were layers of dust everywhere,” she said.
Ms Farmer said it raised questions about the hotel’s ability to quarantine people who may have coronavirus.
“It’s a budget hotel you stay in for a night or two. There has to be some standard in terms of the hygiene and also the fact that your physical and mental well being needs to be cared for through this.”
After asking hotel staff to reclean the room — and raising the alarm with state and federal MPs and the hotel’s medical staff — Ms Farmer was transferred to Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney on Monday afternoon.
In a statement, NSW Police said it conducted regular audits of hotels used for hotel quarantine to “ensure high standard of delivery for all travellers required to quarantine at hotels for the minimum 14-day period as instructed by NSW Health”.
“Hotels that do not meet the expectations are rotated out of the hotels roster.”
A spokeswoman for the hotel said “the health and safety of all returning Australians has been our utmost priority and we’ve worked closely with the local authorities since the outset of the isolation program”.
“Regrettably, the decision has been made to remove the economy Travelodge brand from the program, and guests will be safely moved to five-star quarters for the duration of their quarantine period.”
Since mandatory quarantine began in late March, more than 50,000 people have entered mandatory quarantine in NSW Police-managed hotels.
A total 4185 people are in 16 hotels across Sydney.
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