Since the early days of colonial settlement, different forms of confinement have been used not only to control the spread of illness, but also to respond to a wide range of perceived social and political problems. These policies reinforced the imaginary idea of Australia as a clean, strong and healthy nation, a united federation in control of its borders. As a result, Australians have become somewhat conditioned to accept the idea that liberty — at least the liberty of outsiders — should at times take second priority to the national interest.
Read more: Another day, another hotel quarantine fail. So what can Australia learn from other countries? The program began only to wind down in the s after air travel became popular. As such, it was the longest-running quarantine program in the modern world, lasting nearly a century after England, France, and other parts of Europe abandoned the practice for overseas arrivals.
One explanation for the early enthusiasm for quarantine was it allowed the authorities to manage who could enter the colonies. The policy quickly took on a racialised tone and played into the anti-Chinese sentiment brewing in the goldfields. International arrivals in Australia are currently required to quarantine, unless they are arriving from a designated safe "green zone" country only New Zealand for now or have been approved for a quarantine exemption.
The two-week quarantine period is based on scientific knowledge about the median incubation period for COVID—19, which is between 4. It is a cautious approach, as infection control expert Professor Marilyn Cruickshank from the University of Technology Sydney explained. Asymptomatic infections are a major complicating factor. The UK recently reduced its quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days based on a review of scientific evidence.
The UK's so-called "test to release" scheme has also come into effect, allowing international travellers to pay for a private test after five full days, which, if negative, could see them released 24 to 48 hours later. Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC in the United States revised its guidelines too, saying it would be an "acceptable alternative" for quarantine to end after 10 days without testing if there are no symptoms — and after seven days if there is a negative test.
It calculated the "residual post-quarantine transmission risk" at "about 1 per cent with an upper limit of about 10 per cent" for release after 10 days, with a five to 12 per cent risk after seven days. The CDC said its recommendation of a day quarantine period was based on estimates "of the upper bounds of the COVID—19 incubation period" and that reducing it may increase community compliance.
But that means the risks of allowing an infected person into the community could be different than in countries where the virus is already spreading out of control. Professor Cruickshank believes that rapid testing can be used in some circumstances to safely reduce the quarantine period in Australia, provided social distancing and other important hygiene measures, including masks, are maintained. However, the Federal Government is not entertaining the idea of a relaxation of quarantine rules in Australia.
Australia is committed to bringing Australians home," a spokesperson for the Department of Health said. The Federal Government said routine testing of workers in hotel quarantine facilities would help tighten the control of the spread. Nathan McBain recently returned to Australia after living and working in the US for five years, and started his quarantine in a hotel in Sydney.
Despite limited evidence, all the studies found quarantine to be important in reducing the number of people infected and the number of deaths. Results suggest that quarantine was most effective, and cost less, when it started earlier. Combining quarantine with other prevention and control measures may have a greater effect than quarantine alone. While the number of studies has increased significantly in a short space of time, the evidence base is still limited because most studies on COVID are mathematical modelling studies that make different assumptions on important model parameters.
The evidence suggests that implementation of quarantine early on in a pandemic and combining quarantine with other public health measures such as physical distancing, can help slow the spread of COVID In Melbourne last week, a woman caught the virus from a family in a room across a hallway.
It's suspected the guests opened doors around the same time to pick up their meal. On Monday, it was reported that a traveller to Sydney tested positive two days after exiting his day quarantine.
This also suggested a case of hotel transmission rather than a rare, late-blooming case, Prof Baxter said. Many experts have called for a nationwide reassessment of air flow in hotels used for quarantine. Current hotel protections work to prevent droplets spreading, but experts argue that aerosols need more barriers. These could include better masks and face shields for workers, upgrading air conditioners, and even picking buildings with better ventilation or windows, balconies, and other openings.
Dr Baxter said: "Some of the hotels may have great air circulation, but I suspect many don't. And the point is I don't know - no-one's talking about it. On Monday, Victoria - where the latest two cases were found - announced it had implemented new protections. Workers now had face shields and higher-quality masks, and engineers were reviewing air conditioners and air flows, the state government said.
Hotel staff were also being tested outside shift hours every day, and staggering the delivery of meals to guests. After South Australia's scare in November, state officials said they were upgrading their hotel ventilation systems and urged other states to follow.
Prof Toole points out that the lack of a national standard in hotel quarantine has exacerbated matters. He says it's other measures - such as contact tracing in the community - that have prevented hotel breaches growing into larger outbreaks.
Critics have argued that quarantining in populated city centres amplifies the risk of spread. Could facilities be built instead in Australia's vast inland or remote areas, safely away from most people? It's an idea that is often debated. Supporters of the idea point out that non-hotel quarantine sites are already in use - such as Darwin's Howard Springs facility, an upgraded mining camp which has 3, beds. They note that the first Australians who returned during the pandemic - from Wuhan in China - were quarantined in an immigration detention centre on Christmas Island.
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