Straight to quarantine
THERE were mixed reactions as the nation’s first group of international arrivals to be forced into hotel quarantine arrived in Darwin.
All wearing masks, the group of about 50 people disembarked from TL513 from Dili about 11.20am before spending about an hour going through immigration, bag collection and customs. It was there they were screened for symptoms of coronavirus, including an interview with border control officers.
THERE were mixed reactions as the nation’s first group of international arrivals to be forced into hotel quarantine arrived in Darwin.
All wearing masks, 16 passengers disembarked from TL513 from Dili about 11.20am before spending about an hour going through immigration, bag collection and customs.
It was within the international terminal of Darwin airport that they were screened for symptoms of coronavirus, including an interview with border control officers.
It’s not known whether each passenger’s temperature was taken — a procedure done on the East Coast earlier this week to mixed results with confusion over lines and whether the results were accurate being blamed.
From there, they were led onto buses waiting on the tarmac which took them to Eaton’s Mercure Darwin Airport Resort.
While on the tarmac, some passengers waved to the media, glad to be back on home soil, while others hid their faces behind their masks and baggage trolleys.
The group will remain in isolation in their individual hotel rooms for the next 14 days, undergoing regular monitoring for any health concerns.
While national quarantine regulations didn’t start until last night, Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Friday said the Territory would bring in the quarantine measures immediately.
“This is about making sure people are being secured and monitored in their quarantine,” he said.
“We will be securing rooms so we can detain people in them, this will be done at a rate that is low (as) I am mindful about the Territory taxpayer.”
In response to the mandatory quarantine regulations and the coronavirus pandemic, NT Airports have implemented several measures to reduce the spread of germs and bacteria and maximise social distancing.
The upstairs departure floor in Darwin airport is now limited to passengers with a boarding pass only, with exceptions for staff, contractors and visitors with special needs, while cleaning in the terminal has tripled.