Australian hotel quarantine system is inundated by Covid cases in Indian travellers


Australia’s hotel quarantine system has been swamped by Covid cases in returned travellers from India amid fears the ‘double mutant’ strain wreaking havoc there could seep out into the community.

The concerning spike in hotel quarantine Covid cases saw NSW record 12 new overseas acquired infections on Tuesday, eight the day before, and 18 on Friday.

Hotel quarantine facilities in South Australia have also seen a big jump in cases, recording 14 new infections on Monday and nine on Friday.

The Northern Territory recorded 27 cases from overseas travellers over Friday, Saturday and Monday – with 24 of those having arrived on flights from India.

The South Asian nation’s Covid crisis has reached catastrophic levels with 350,000 new cases recorded on Tuesday alone, while a surge in infections pushed the death toll close to 200,000.   

The concerning spike in hotel quarantine Covid cases saw NSW record 12 new overseas acquired infections on Tuesday, eight the day before and 18 on Friday

The concerning spike in hotel quarantine Covid cases saw NSW record 12 new overseas acquired infections on Tuesday, eight the day before and 18 on Friday

The Northern Territory recorded 27 cases from overseas travellers over Friday, Saturday and Monday - with 24 of those having arrived on flights from India

The Northern Territory recorded 27 cases from overseas travellers over Friday, Saturday and Monday – with 24 of those having arrived on flights from India

India's Covid crisis has reached catastrophic levels with 350,000 new cases recorded on Tuesday alone, while a surge in infections pushed the death toll close to 200,000. Pictured: A relative of a person who died of COVID-19 performs rituals during cremation in Gauhati, India

India’s Covid crisis has reached catastrophic levels with 350,000 new cases recorded on Tuesday alone, while a surge in infections pushed the death toll close to 200,000. Pictured: A relative of a person who died of COVID-19 performs rituals during cremation in Gauhati, India 

WA Premier Mark McGowan said in the past month alone, 40 per cent of his state’s cases in quarantine had come from India.

The B. 1.617 strain of Covid has been dubbed a ‘double mutant’ variant – prompting fears it could leak out of hotel quarantine and rip through Australia.

Flights into Australia from India are being suspended until May 15 as the country deals with an escalating coronavirus catastrophe.

The hotel quarantine system is under renewed scrutiny amid a surge of cases from India, which is being overwhelmed by the virus.

Flights into Australia from India are being suspended until May 15 with Prime Minister Scott Morrison citing the need to maintain the ‘integrity’ of quarantine facilities.

Australia’s top health officials ‘expect’ Covid-19 transmission to occur within hotel quarantine and believe the system is fit for purpose.

There are about 34,300 Australians registered with the Foreign Affairs Department as being overseas and wanting to return home.

Burning pyres of victims who lost their lives to Covid-19 are seen at a cremation ground in New Delhi

Burning pyres of victims who lost their lives to Covid-19 are seen at a cremation ground in New Delhi 

Relatives and municipal workers prepare to bury the body of a person who died of COVID-19 in Gauhati, India, Sunday

Relatives and municipal workers prepare to bury the body of a person who died of COVID-19 in Gauhati, India, Sunday 

About 9,000 of those are in India, 650 of whom are considered vulnerable.

The decision will be reviewed before May 15, but passengers on future flights will need to show a negative result on two different types of Covid-19 tests before they board.

Further flights will focus on getting vulnerable Australians back home. More than 19,400 Australians have returned from India since last March.

Indirect flights via such ports as Dubai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur have also been paused.

India has recorded 323,144 new cases in the past 24 hours.

Hospitals are overwhelmed and there is a critical shortage of medical oxygen and ventilators across the country.

Australia’s highly-paid cricket stars have begged for a charter flight back from Covid-ravaged India.

Batsman Chris Lynn, who is earning about $357,000 playing in the Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians, led calls for Cricket Australia to organise a plane to get players home.

But his pleas for the federal government to let players home because they will be vaccinated next week and have been living in a bubble have been met with fury by Australians who believe they should not be given preferential treatment.

Lynn urged Cricket Australia to arrange the charter flight after the IPL finishes next month, in a plea made moments before the government’s border announcement was made official on Tuesday.

Cricket Australia had asked players a day earlier about their health and travel plans amid the escalating Covid outbreak in India.

‘I texted back that as Cricket Australia make 10 per cent of every IPL contract, was there a chance we could spend that money this year on a charter flight once the tournament is over?’ Lynn told News Corp.

Lynn revealed that he and others are now due to get a Covid vaccine next week to continue playing in the IPL and said the government should take that into account.

Australian cricket player Chris Lynn (pictured with girlfriend Karlie Armansin) has requested a charter flight out of India once the Indian Premier League is finished

Australian cricket player Chris Lynn (pictured with girlfriend Karlie Armansin) has requested a charter flight out of India once the Indian Premier League is finished

David Warner (right) Steve Smith and Pat Cummins are among several of Australia's biggest cricket stars stranded in India. Warner is pictured with New Zealand star Kane Williamson on a previous flight

David Warner (right) Steve Smith and Pat Cummins are among several of Australia’s biggest cricket stars stranded in India. Warner is pictured with New Zealand star Kane Williamson on a previous flight

Lynn is one of 17 Australian cricket stars including test players David Warner, Steve Smith and Pat Cummins left behind in India.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the cricket players will not jump the queue, even when repatriation flights from India recommence.

‘They’ve travelled their privately under their own arrangements. This wasn’t part of an Australian tour,’ Mr Morrison said.

‘And they’re under their own resources and they’ll be using those resources, I’m sure, to see them return to Australia in accordance with our own arrangements.’

West Australians emerged on Tuesday from a three-day snap lockdown, triggered by an infected man who returned from India after travelling to get married.

Premier Mark McGowan said he had enormous sympathy for India, describing the situation there as diabolical.

‘But it does put extreme pressure on our systems here in Western Australia and indeed in other states,’ he said.

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