A new report has shown that the government of the Australian state of Queensland was not transparent and financially considerate during the construction of a $223 million (US$148 million) COVID-19 quarantine facility in 2021. On June 30, the Queensland Audit Office released the findings of a year-long investigation into the Wellcamp quarantine facility by Auditor-General…

New Zealand’s former COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has apologised to journalist Charlotte Bellis for incorrect comments made about her attempts to secure a MIQ (managed isolation and quarantine) spot during the height of lockdowns. Bellis had tried to return to New Zealand after discovering she was pregnant in Qatar, where sex outside of marriage…

Imagine you’re back in pre-school. You’re sitting on the rug, listening to the teacher read a storybook. Suddenly, the nurse calls into the classroom. “Mrs. Jones? Can you send Bobby to the health office right away?” You’re not sick, and you don’t take any medicines at school like your friend Michael does. Why do you…

An internal memo dating back to Nov. 12, 2021, from the New Zealand Ministry of Health advised officials that there was no longer any justification to continue the country’s Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ). The advice from the memo, obtained by RNZ, was not adhered to, with the winding down of the quarantine system beginning…

July 1 marks the centennial of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Guangzhou, which has been closed for a long time due to a CCP virus outbreak, has suddenly lifted traffic controls in some areas and on the city borders. However, the city will again conduct nucleic acid testing, and the outskirts of Guangzhou are also…

Australia has been warned it faces a pressure cooker moment as state premiers urge a dramatic reduction in international arrivals to stop coronavirus outbreaks. Labor premiers in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia are calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to reduce passenger caps. “We are at a pressure cooker moment,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told…

The Australian government will provide those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, a digital certificate to demonstrate their status. The certificate has a coat of arms hologram and includes the person’s name, date of birth, and a green tick of validity and can be accessed through the Medicare…

Victoria’s proposed COVID-19 quarantine facility is dependent on federal funding and won’t be ready until the end of the year. The state government has confirmed the preferred site for the facility will be next to the Mickleham post-entry pet quarantine centre, a commonwealth site about 40km north of Melbourne. The 500-bed facility would cost about…

TORONTO—A quarantine screening officer in Oakville, Ont., is facing charges of sexual assault and extortion. Regional police say the accused was trained by the Public Health Agency of Canada and worked for a private security company. Police allege the 27-year-old officer told a woman at a home she was in violation of a quarantine order….