Doctor Stephen in quarantine after efforts to get home
A YOUNG New Ross doctor has been living in quarantine in Rosslare Strand after an epic journey home from northern Australia, during which he saw the wildly different ways Covid-19 health rules are enforced.
Stephen Donohoe (30) travelled to Queensland in February, a month before the pandemic took hold in Europe, to do locuming work, prior to beginning his GP training in Limerick this July.
Having qualified as a doctor in 2017 and previously spent time in Australia with his girlfriend, he decided to return on his own.
Little did Stephen know, he would soon find himself in a country with strict rules surrounding movement in the grip one of the worst health crises in its short history as a nation.
Stephen said: ‘I wanted to go back to Australia to do some work in a rural GP practice so that is how I came to be there.’
Working in Mount Gambier, he was fortunate in that there were very few cases within the community.
‘Australia got hit with it [Covid-19] a few weeks after us here. We never really got hit with it in Mount Gambier.’
After several weeks he moved to Mount Isla in the Outback area of Queensland.
‘ There was no Covid there either but the measures were quite strict there, where there is a large Aboriginal population.’
Stephen was in Mount Isla at a time when the virus was spreading in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
‘ There was a move to shut off communities like Mount Isla from the bigger population centres because the Aboriginal people – with their baseline health status – could be wiped out there [if it took hold].’
Transport in to and out of Mount Isla was prohibited and among his roles was swabbing people for Covid-19, finding no positives.
In late May, Stephen decided to return to Ireland. He had to stop off in Perth to collect some belongings and, when he arrived there, was informed that he had to remain in the Gold Coast city for a fortnight, when his return flight was for five days later.
‘It was strict even to get into Western Australia. I had to apply for an exemption, saying I was going back to work. When we were getting off the plane, only 15 of us at a time were let off so it took a long time.’
Stephen and all the passengers were met by a nurse wearing full PPE who took his temperature.
‘ Then we were met by the police who took our details and asked where we were staying. We were told we had to mandatory quarantine for 14 days in an apartment and couldn’t leave for exercise.’
Immediately regretting travelling to Perth, Stephen was in a difficult position having not informed police about his plans to leave the country after five days – which, by law, he was ultimately allowed to do.
On his fourth day in Perth, the intercom rang and four police called in to see him, explaining to him that he had a 14 day quarantine and that he might be checked up on multiple times.
He left Perth the following day.
‘I had no issues at the airport. I travelled back [to Ireland] through Doha and Heathrow. The flight from Perth to Doha was about 10 per cent full and the flight from London to Dublin was almost full, with the middle seat taken away. On the Qatar Airlines flight, the air hostesses had full hazmat suits from their feet up with masks and goggles and a hood on top.’
Stephen was one of many passengers wearing a mask.
He said it took ‘ages’ to board the Aer Lingus flight in Heathrow.
‘ They seated us row by row. There was a bit of irony there from an Irish public health viewpoint as we had to fill out forms and they handed us pens to pass around. When he landed as soon as the seatbelt lights came on, everyone was up, bumper to bumper in the aisles trying to get off, with little or no social distancing. Everyone just wanted off the plane!’
Upon arrival at Dublin Airport he found it ‘dead’. He was greeted by his parents Ger and John, who gave him the loan of a car to drive to Rosslare.
‘We were the only flight going through the border inspection part. I was under the impression that it was going to be mandatory quarantine for 14 days. Our family has a beach hut in Rosslare so I was going there. The Immigration guy said
“it’s up to yourself ” whether I do quarantine or not. He did ask what I had been doing in Australia but I would have thought I was high risk as I had travelled through three airports but then when you quarantine it’s up to yourself.’
Stephen said mandatory quarantining should have been introduced in Ireland weeks ago.
Delighted to be back in Co Wexford, Stephen said he was notified by his friends in Perth that the police came back looking for him two days after he flew home.
‘Luckily, my friends were in the apartment and told them I had gone home. If not, they would have tried calling my Australian number.’
He plans to stick regimentally to his quarantine.
‘As much as I’d like to go to New Ross, I’m happy to wait to go to the [3] Bullet [pub] for a pint of Guinness.’