A senior public servant who was responsible for managing infection control protocols for Victoria’s hotel quarantine program has been stood down following reports of alleged compliance breaches. Matiu Bush, who has been involved in the program since June, was stood down by Victorian Police Minister Danny Pearson on May 4 after it was revealed by The…

Labor is demanding the federal government establish purpose-built quarantine centres in each state and territory as hotels continue to house the bulk of people entering Australia despite state governments making proposals for facilities outside capital cities. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese called on the Morrison government to build and run fit-for-purpose quarantine hubs in every jurisdiction….

Victoria’s state opposition is calling for an investigation into why a private security company, which was involved in Victoria’s bungled hotel quarantine scheme, was granted a licence extension by the state. The move comes just weeks after NSW Police revoked the master licence of Unified Security Group due to “undeclared changes in ownership”—effectively axing up…

Workers in Victoria’s hotel quarantine program who refused to be vaccinated against the CCP virus have been stood down with full pay. While some workers refused the vaccine on medical grounds, at least one worker did so out of concern that the vaccine may affect her fertility. “All staff members working at our active quarantine…

A New Zealand hotel quarantine worker has tested positive for the CCP virus just days after the country announced a two-way safe zone travel bubble with Australia. The 24-year-old security worker at Grand Millennium managed isolation facility in Auckland returned a positive swab test on Tuesday after complaining of a sore throat. New Zealand Director-General of…

England has expanded its COVID-19 travel ban, adding four countries to its “red list” to prevent new variants of the CCP virus from entering the country. From 0300 GMT on Apr. 9, international visitors who have departed from or transited through the Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya, and Bangladesh in the previous 10 days will be refused…

The NSW Ombudsman has released a new report named “2020 Hindsight” on Monday, which highlights the impacts on individuals of measures taken by the state government in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ombudsman received a total of 913 contacts related to the NSW government’s response to the pandemic over the past year, among which 513…

New rules requiring some incoming passengers to quarantine in hotels came into force in the UK on Monday morning. The UK government announced the measure earlier this month in order to prevent variants of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus, from entering the country. From Monday, people arriving in…

Australia’s hotel quarantine won’t be run by the federal government, with the prime minister again rejecting the idea in the wake of renewed concerns about coronavirus spreading out of the system. “We’re not going to be running it,” Scott Morrison told 3AW radio on Friday. “Hotel quarantine is never 100 per cent fail-safe. To suggest it…

Travellers who break Britain’s COVID-19 quarantine rules will face fines and jail terms of up to 10 years, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Tuesday. Under new rules that will come into force on Feb. 15, anyone travelling to the UK from a country on the UK’s travel ban list will be required to quarantine…