Victoria records another coronavirus case in hotel quarantine after five international travellers tested positive
- One new Covid-19 case reported in Victoria’s hotel quarantine on Sunday
- Victoria reported five new cases of coronavirus in hotel quarantine on Saturday
- The five new infections were the first cases recorded in the state in 42 days
- However, no locally-acquired cases were reported for a 44th straight day
Victoria has recorded another Covid-19 case in hotel quarantine after reporting five new cases the day before.
Victoria’s 42-day COVID-free streak came to an end on Saturday, with five cases of the virus uncovered in the state’s revamped hotel quarantine system.
One more case was then reported on Sunday, bringing the total number of active cases in the state to six.
However no locally-acquired cases were reported for a 44th straight day.
There were 571 international arrivals in quarantine hotels on Friday, including 44 with symptoms or complex health needs at the Novotel ‘hot hotel’ in Melbourne‘s South Wharf.
Victoria has recorded another Covid-19 case in hotel quarantine after reporting five new cases the day before. Pictured: International travellers arriving at hotel quarantine in Melbourne on Monday
Some 220 returned travellers were due to arrive late on Friday.
The hotel quarantine program was kickstarted again on Monday after the state welcomed back international travellers for the first time since the horror second wave.
A majority of infections in the second wave were linked back to failures in the state-run hotel quarantine scheme.
Infections spread from travellers to security guards then into their families and the community.
Authorities did warn that there would inevitably be COVID-19 cases once international flights resumed on December 7.
Meanwhile, Business Victoria says 40,000 vouchers offered as part of the first round of the state’s Regional Travel Voucher Scheme have run out.
Holidaymakers hoping to snap up one of the Victorian government’s $200 regional tourism offers prompted the application website to crash within minutes on Friday morning, having opened at 10am.
There were 571 international arrivals in quarantine hotels on Friday, including 44 with symptoms or complex health needs at the Novotel ‘hot hotel’ (pictured)
Hotel quarantine workers in full PPE in Melbourne as they ask recently arrived international travellers to get off the bus
Those intending to spend two or more nights in regional Victoria between Saturday and January 22, 2021 were able to apply.
Business Victoria said the website received 800,000 visits by Friday at 5pm.
Eligible destinations under the $28million scheme, announced as part of a $300 million state budget tourism package last month, include the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Bellarine Peninsula.
‘If those $200 vouchers mean people stay an extra night, maybe go to a local pub or restaurant. That’s all about wages and spending and investment,’ Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday.
Victorian residents can apply even if their travel has already been booked.
While the first round of vouchers is exhausted, a second application window will open for trips between January 27 and April 1. A third round will be available between April 6 and May 31.
Opposition tourism spokeswoman Cindy McLeish labelled the launch a ‘flop’.
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