Curb on Australians returning from abroad

New limit and citizens told to pay for own quarantine as country battles to curb escalation of outbreak

AUSTRALIA is to halve the number of citizens allowed to return home from overseas every week to take pressure off the quarantine system as it struggles to contain an escalating outbreak of coronavirus.

The state of Victoria, which includes Melbourne, reported 288 new cases yesterday, a record daily increase for any part of the country.

There are now fears of a wave of community transmission in a country where most Covid-19 cases have involved returned travellers.

“The news from Victoria remains very concerning,” Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, said.

The authorities in Victoria tested 37,000 people in 24 hours in a bid to get a handle on the situation, revealing the spike in infections.

Since March, Australia has allowed only citizens and permanent residents to enter the country with some 357,000 having returned to date. It will now impose a cap of 4,175 people a week and those returning will also have to pay for a mandatory 14-day quarantine in a hotel, which until now had been paid for by state governments.

“The decision that we took … was to ensure we could put our focus on the resources needed to do the testing and tracing and not have to have resources diverted,” Mr Morrison said.

It was also announced yesterday that an inquiry into Victoria’s hotel quarantine system will begin its first public hearing on July 20.

Daniel Andrews, the state premier, set up the investigation in response to a number of clusters being linked to security guards in two quarantine hotels, and allegations that the guards were poorly trained and equipped by private security contractors.

The hearings will begin with opening statements by Jennifer Coate, the judge in charge, and Tony Neal QC, the counsel assisting the inquiry.

Hearings will be live-streamed for the public.

Victoria’s northern and western borders are now closed, and Queensland has banned Victoria residents from entering. Western Australia’s border has remained closed for several weeks.

Tens of thousands of permits have been issued to those who need to cross for work and other reasons.

In Melbourne, it was announced that 16 fines totalling $26,000 (£14,360) have been issued to partygoers who violated the city’s strict lockdown.

Police tracked the group after it was discovered that two people ordered around 20 meals at a KFC store in Dandenong about 1.30am yesterday.

Ambulance workers who were at the store noticed the large order and notified police, who followed the car to a town house where partygoers initially tried to hide in the backyard, garage and under beds.

Shane Patton, the Victoria police commissioner, said: “That is absolutely ridiculous, that type of behaviour, and it’s a very expensive night.”

In New Zealand, a man has been charged after allegedly threatening staff at an Auckland Covid-19 isolation hotel.

Superintendent Steve Kehoe, of Auckland Police, said a 21-year-old man who was in managed isolation at a hotel in Māngere was arrested after he allegedly became abusive.

Three people have been charged with escaping hotel quarantine in New Zealand this week.

They included a 52-year-old man who allegedly went to a off-licence and picked up a four-pack of European beer and red wine before leaving.

The assistant told local reporters he spent two minutes in the store and knew exactly what he was after.