Police admit it was THEIR fault two German tourists skipped hotel quarantine in Sydney before being stopped in Melbourne by chance and sparking massive coronavirus scare
- Those on VA 838 flight from Sydney to Melbourne on Saturday now in isolation
- Two international travellers on board had not quarantined in New South Wales
- NSW Police said officers incorrectly processed travellers as having exemption
- Victorian health authorities had told everyone on board to quarantine at home
Officers working at Sydney Airport incorrectly processed two German travellers who had arrived on an international flight and let them fly onto Melbourne without going into hotel quarantine, police have admitted.
An investigation was launched on Sunday into how the 53-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy dodged the 14-day quarantine and boarded a domestic flight - sparking a fresh coronavirus scare for 130 passengers.
Passengers on Virgin flight VA 838 from Sydney to Melbourne on Saturday were ordered to self-isolate immediately after Victorian authorities discovered the European travellers failed to quarantine on arrival in New South Wales.
NSW Police have revealed the pair were told to board a bus to start their 14-day quarantine before the travellers informed officers they were booked onto a flight to Melbourne.
Questions have been raised as to how two German travellers dodged hotel quarantine in Sydney to catch a domestic flight to Melbourne. Pictured are travellers arriving at Sydney International Airport under the watchful eye of police
'Police made inquiries as to travel and exemptions, which subsequently allowed the pair to travel to Melbourne on a domestic flight under standard protocols for exempt travellers,' a NSW Police spokesman said.
'On arrival in Melbourne, Victoria Health advised NSW Health the pair were not in possession of an approved exemption and had been escorted to hotel quarantine - where they remain.'
The force said it had since reviewed and strengthened its practices at Sydney Airport.
The travellers are believed to have used online services to check in to the domestic flight.
Health authorities in Victoria said the pair have so far tested negative to COVID-19.
'If in fact tomorrow the international travellers return a further negative test the incubation period and the chain of transmission will have been broken and we will release those close contacts from isolation,' Victorian minister Martin Foley said on Sunday.
A Virgin Australia spokeswoman said the airline had asked NSW Health how the pair arrived in the country without going into hotel quarantine.
A plane of 130 passengers who flew Sydney to Melbourne via Virgin on Saturday have been ordered to self-isolate (file image of Virgin Australia plane at Sydney Domestic Airport)
The airline also said the plane underwent a deep clean as a precautionary measure.
The Australian Border Force passed responsibility for the travellers' movements onto NSW's health body - saying the pair had passed all customs and immigration requirements.
'From that point the responsibility for passengers passes to state and territory authorities for hotel quarantine and onwards domestic travel if relevant,' an ABF spokesman said.
'The ABF will continue to assist state and territory authorities as required.'
The two foreigners are now isolating in Victoria and it's not known whether or not they had contracted coronavirus (Pictured: Passengers are seen boarding a Jetstar flight to Sydney at Melbourne Airport in Melbourne, Monday, November 23)
NSW Health deferred questions about the matter to NSW Police.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has ordered the Australian Border Force to investigate.
'There are multiple rings of containment within the quarantine and border system and, ultimately, these passengers have been picked up within those rings of containment,' he told Sky News on Sunday.
'But frankly we want to make sure every ring is impregnable, and so we have asked the Border Force Commissioner to work with NSW on understanding the circumstances.'
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews believes it could have happened in the line for the bus.
'These people, it seems they are in a queue, waiting to get on a bus to go to hotel quarantine,' he told reporters on Sunday.
More coronavirus restrictions have been eased in Victoria. Pictured are Melburnians at Flinders Street Station on Sunday
'Next minute they're not in that queue. They are instead making quite - if you know Sydney Airport - quite an overland journey to get to the other terminal.
'Tickets have been purchased en route, then they've got on the plane and made their way here.'
Mr Andrews refused to point the finger at NSW Health.
'We picked it up, we are very grateful that we were able to do that, but there should be no sense of criticism by anybody in our state,' he said.
The other 128 travellers on board Virgin flight VA 838, which left Sydney at midday on Saturday and landed in Melbourne at 1.25pm have been contacted and gone into self isolation.
VICTORIA'S 'COVID-NORMAL' SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES
Masks only needed where social distancing cannot be kept - like rideshare vehicles, taxis, shopping centres and supermarkets.
Victorians should still keep masks on them so they can use them if they get into a situation where they cannot social distance.
Outdoor gathering limits will rise to 100 people.
Up to 30 Victorians from multiple household will be allowed in each others' homes on any given day.
Mask rules have been relaxed in Victoria after the state recorded 37 days straight without any new coronavirus infections. Pictured: People walk along Bourke Street Mall on November 27
Restaurants, weddings, funeral and religious gatherings can host one person per two square metres.
Nightclubs can re-open - operating on a basis of one person per four square metres.
Standing service in bars will resume but QR code check-ins will be enforced throughout the state.
Fifty per cent of private sector workers and 25 per cent of those in the public sector can go into the office from January 11.
From February 8, 50 per cent of public sector workers can go back to their desk.
'A comprehensive public health response is under way, including testing and full contact tracing,' DHHS said in the statement.
'Anyone who has been at the Melbourne Airport domestic terminal on Saturday afternoon is advised to monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and to seek testing if symptoms develop.'
One passenger who was returning to Melbourne following a work Christmas party recalled how his wife saw a news article about the potential virus exposure before he saw the text message.
'My wife saw the article first, I hadn't opened my phone and suffice to say there was a lot of colourful words said,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
'My colleague rang up and… basically there was a lot of 'for f---'s sake'.'
New South Wales recorded no locally-acquired cases on top of the five in hotel quarantine on Sunday.
Professor Sutton said authorities were still working through details ahead of Premier Daniel Andrew's Sunday press conference, but confirmed advice around masks, which currently must be worn in indoor settings, will change. Pictured: A woman wears a face mask at Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall
Victoria celebrated its 37th consecutive day without any new infections as the state moved to a 'COVID-normal' level of restrictions on Sunday.
Pubs, restaurants and cafes will effectively double their permitted capacity with the changes.
Revellers will also be allowed to stand and drink when in outside sections of venues.
The cap on attendees at religious gatherings is also expected to be scratched ahead of Christmas and will instead be replaced with the one person per two square metre rule.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton told a parliamentary inquiry it is safe for the state to move to a 'COVID normal' level of restrictions on Sunday
On Monday, five international flights from Colombo, Doha, Hong Kong and Singapore will land at Melbourne Airport as the state's revamped hotel quarantine program restarts.
International flights were diverted from Victoria in June after security guards at two quarantine hotels contracted COVID-19.
The outbreaks sparked the state's second wave, which resulted in more than 18,000 infections and 800 deaths.
The government announced on Friday it will introduce legislation to charge for the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
The fees will be set at $3000 per adult, $1000 for each additional adult in a room and $500 for children aged between three and 18 years. There will be no charge for children under three.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiigFodHRwczovL3d3dy5kYWlseW1haWwuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlLTkwMjI0MTkvUG9saWNlLWludmVzdGlnYXRlLXRyYXZlbGxlcnMtbGllZC1lc2NhcGUtcXVhcmFudGluZS1TeWRuZXktc3BhcmtpbmctbmV3LUNvdmlkLXNjYXJlLmh0bWzSAY4BaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGFpbHltYWlsLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZS05MDIyNDE5L2FtcC9Qb2xpY2UtaW52ZXN0aWdhdGUtdHJhdmVsbGVycy1saWVkLWVzY2FwZS1xdWFyYW50aW5lLVN5ZG5leS1zcGFya2luZy1uZXctQ292aWQtc2NhcmUuaHRtbA?oc=5
2020-12-06 01:31:00Z
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