‘No room for complacency’ on Victorian hotel quarantine

Jacinta Allan says there will be ‘no room for ­complacency’ when the state’s hotel quarantine program reopens to international arrivals on ­Thursday.

Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan. Picture: Luis Ascui

Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan says there will be “no room for ­complacency” when the state’s hotel quarantine program reopens to international arrivals on ­Thursday.

The resumption of the program comes after infections in hotel quarantine security guards sparked Victoria’s deadly second wave of coronavirus last year.

It also follows instances of virus transmission at three separate hotels in the space of five days in January, one of which generated a cluster of cases that sparked a five-day lockdown and suspension of inter­national arrivals.

Ms Allan said on Tuesday coronavirus remained deadly and highly infectious.

“We’re seeing it mutate into different strains and there is no room for complacency — and that’s why we’ve worked really, really hard in terms of the work that’s been done, particularly on the ventilation arrangements around the hotels that will be used from Thursday for the return of international flights,” she said.

Ms Allan said all hotel quarantine staff would have had at least one vaccination when the program resumed, with a small number who declined to be immunised, mostly for medical reasons, redeployed within the public service.

“We have got the vast majority of hotel quarantine workers vaccinated with at least the first dose — something like almost 5000 workers have been vaccinated and a further 2300 have had the second dose.

“It will only be those workers who’ve had the first dose of the vaccine who’ll be working in those frontline responsibilities in the hotel quarantine environment when flights resume on Thursday.”

Victorian authorities immunised 1023 frontline workers on Easter Monday, bringing the total number of vaccine doses administered by the Victorian Department of Health to 117,000.

As part of the federal government’s vaccine rollout, Victoria is responsible for providing ­vaccinations to workers in health, emergency services and other critical industries and public sector aged-care residents and staff.

The remainder (and majority) of vaccinations are being administered by the common­wealth through general practitioner clinics.

Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said Victorians were relying on the Andrews government to “get it right this time” with hotel quarantine.

“We know that the last two times Labor made a mess of hotel quarantine,” he said.

“They’ve locked Victoria down.

“This state can’t afford any more lockdowns, we can’t afford any more times, and people to be shut at home, businesses closed, schools closed.

“The government needs to get it right this time. Victorians are counting on it.”