Safer and more reliable quarantining arrangements until the new Commonwealth Quarantine Facility is completed.
A donga facility can be built in weeks, and an initial capacity of 20 beds will support transferring COVID-positive patients out of hotel quarantine, which is not suitable for managing the pandemic.
Until such time that the proposed Commonwealth Quarantine Facility is complete, predicted to be in March 2022, WA needs alternative arrangements to protect Western Australians.
An interim facility should be identified or built to quarantine COVID-positive patients. The facility should as far as possible replicate best practice based on the Centre for National Resilience at Howard Springs, Northern Territory.
At a minimum, the facility should prioritise air-gapping, implementation of ventilation recommendations, and resourcing to provide full air-borne PPE for all staff on site.
Current hotel quarantine facilities are not fit for purpose, and have resulted in the infection of COVID-negative patients. One in 20 COVID-positive patients in hotel quarantine has resulted in community spread in WA, while three breaches in WA’s hotel quarantine system led to COVID-19 community transmission in WA.
Reduced risk of quarantine breaches and cross infection, resulting in greater protection for Western Australians. This will result in increased community confidence that individuals, families and organisations can safely go about business as usual.
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