Woman ‘jumped off roof to escape quarantine’

Video has emerged of a Victorian woman allegedly trying to escape hotel quarantine in Tasmania before being arrested | WATCH

An image from the video of a woman climbing down the side of a hotel, allegedly busting out of quarantine. Picture: Facebook

Video has emerged of a Victorian woman allegedly trying to escape hotel quarantine in Tasmania by climbing down the outside of the building from the first-floor.

After the footage hit social media on Wednesday, Tasmania Police said a 38-year-old Victorian woman had been charged with “failing to obey a direction of an emergency management worker”.

The Australian understands the woman, carrying a bag, was apprehended by police shortly after her escape via a veranda roof at Launceston’s Peppers Seaport Hotel on February 14.

“She was arrested and detained for court where she appeared in the Launceston Magistrates Court yesterday (Tuesday),” TasPol said in a statement.

“The woman was directed to return to Victoria and left Tasmania yesterday (Tuesday). She will appear in the Launceston Magistrates Court on 30 March at 2.15pm.”

It is the second known escape by a Victorian from Tasmania’s hotel quarantine in recent days, following the state’s insistence people who had been at certain sites linked to Melbourne’s most recent coronavirus cluster enter self-isolation. 

Tasmania Police say another Victorian woman and her young child spent an hour and 20 minutes out of their mandatory hotel quarantine in Hobart on Monday night before being caught.

The island state’s hotel quarantine system uses mostly private security firms, with support from police, but has been relatively incident-free since the pandemic began.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein warned anyone sent into quarantine to abide by the rules.

“If you don’t, we will apply the full force of the law to you,” he said.