Should Australia's COVID19 quarantine centres be located away from major cities?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: On February 16, 2021, 9 News Australia a segment detailing proposals for a purpose-built quarantine facility in Victoria, outside major cities.What they said...
'I believe it's well and truly time to move quarantine to remote locations, to reduce the risk of transmission into dense urban areas'
Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of South Australia
'Does the facility need to be in a remote area? No. It makes it too hard to have skilled staff, health expertise and access to acute hospitals...'
Catherine Bennett, the chair in epidemiology at Deakin University
The issue at a glance
On February 15, 2021, the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced that the state would build a standalone quarantine facility to accommodate some of those returning to Australia from overseas, suggesting either Melbourne or Avalon airports as possible locations.
In January 2021, the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, stated her government's continued enthusiasm for the establishment of remote quarantine facilities in her state.
The Queensland premier had sought unsuccessfully to promote such a scheme on a national basis to the National Cabinet set up to co-ordinate Australia's response to COVID19. New South Wales expressed no interest and the prime minister, Scott Morrison, declared his lack of support for the proposal. Despite this the federal government continues to fund and expand the Howard Springs remote quarantine facility, located south east of Darwin in the Northern Territory.
The debate over the viability of regional facilities relative to city-based hotel quarantine has not been resolved.