❓ Ms. Davies questions the Minister for Health about the suitability of hotels used for quarantine prior to the decision to retire the three highest-risk hotels. The Minister responds that all hotels were deemed suitable, but some required more mitigation measures, and that the government is exploring other options.
AnsweredQoN 23Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS — HOTEL QUARANTINE
23. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the announcement on 28 April that the state
government would no longer use the three highest risk hotels identified in the
Glossop Consultancy report for hotel quarantine for overseas travellers.
(1) Prior to
28 April, had the government commissioned any reports or been advised of any
hotels that would be better suited for hotel quarantine than any of the hotels
in the Glossop report?
(2) Is the
minister aware of any hotels in the Perth and Peel regions that would be better
suited for hotel quarantine than the 10 identified in the Glossop report; and,
if so, when did the minister become aware of them?
23. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the announcement on 28 April that the state
government would no longer use the three highest risk hotels identified in the
Glossop Consultancy report for hotel quarantine for overseas travellers.
(1) Prior to
28 April, had the government commissioned any reports or been advised of any
hotels that would be better suited for hotel quarantine than any of the hotels
in the Glossop report?
(2) Is the
minister aware of any hotels in the Perth and Peel regions that would be better
suited for hotel quarantine than the 10 identified in the Glossop report; and,
if so, when did the minister become aware of them?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) On
16 April, the government became aware of advice from the Chief Health Officer
on hotels that were the subject of the analysis by Glossop Consultancy and
other consultants. That report made a specific finding that all the hotels were
suitable for hotel quarantine, but that some of them were better suited than
others; that is, they required less mitigation in engineering and other
mitigation methods, such as the movement of staff, the use of HEPA filters in
rooms with positive cases and so on. That report was into the hotels that we
were using at the time. As the Premier said in a recent announcement, upon
further reflection we decided to retire the Four Points by Sheraton Perth, the
Mercure Perth and the Novotel Perth Langley because of the circumstances
relating to the incidents at the Mercure hotel. I stress that none of the
hotels were considered unsuitable for hotel quarantine but some were better
than others.
In his 16 April advice, the Chief
Health Officer said that the Four Points and the Novotel Perth Langley could
still be used, but the Mercure should be used for low-risk travellers such as
seasonal workers who were being brought in to support the horticulture and
agriculture industries and also offsiders, which is industry language for
people leaving merchant vessels when they have done their tour of duty, for
want of a better description. I am not aware of any other hotels that have been
put to us that we should have been using, because I do not think the reports
went into hotels that were not commissioned. We have to remember that at the time, and it remains the case, other hotels had
guests so they did not necessarily want them to be used as quarantine facilities.
I want to place on the record my thanks and appreciation for the management and
owners of all the hotels that are in service at the moment and providing an
incredibly important service on behalf of the people of Western Australia.
We are investigating other hotels and
other solutions. We would expect any government that is in charge of a critical
program such as this to be open and aware of what other opportunities exist out
there. But at the moment, we will be retiring from service the Mercure, the
Novotel Perth Langley and the Four Points and we will continue to do an
important role on behalf of the commonwealth government, which is exercising
its quarantine powers under section 51 of the Constitution. We will continue to
play that role because that is a commitment that the Premier has made as a member
of the national cabinet. We will continue to do it competently and in a manner
that keeps the people of Western Australia safe.
There may have been other elements
that I missed. The member can remind me.
16 April, the government became aware of advice from the Chief Health Officer
on hotels that were the subject of the analysis by Glossop Consultancy and
other consultants. That report made a specific finding that all the hotels were
suitable for hotel quarantine, but that some of them were better suited than
others; that is, they required less mitigation in engineering and other
mitigation methods, such as the movement of staff, the use of HEPA filters in
rooms with positive cases and so on. That report was into the hotels that we
were using at the time. As the Premier said in a recent announcement, upon
further reflection we decided to retire the Four Points by Sheraton Perth, the
Mercure Perth and the Novotel Perth Langley because of the circumstances
relating to the incidents at the Mercure hotel. I stress that none of the
hotels were considered unsuitable for hotel quarantine but some were better
than others.
In his 16 April advice, the Chief
Health Officer said that the Four Points and the Novotel Perth Langley could
still be used, but the Mercure should be used for low-risk travellers such as
seasonal workers who were being brought in to support the horticulture and
agriculture industries and also offsiders, which is industry language for
people leaving merchant vessels when they have done their tour of duty, for
want of a better description. I am not aware of any other hotels that have been
put to us that we should have been using, because I do not think the reports
went into hotels that were not commissioned. We have to remember that at the time, and it remains the case, other hotels had
guests so they did not necessarily want them to be used as quarantine facilities.
I want to place on the record my thanks and appreciation for the management and
owners of all the hotels that are in service at the moment and providing an
incredibly important service on behalf of the people of Western Australia.
We are investigating other hotels and
other solutions. We would expect any government that is in charge of a critical
program such as this to be open and aware of what other opportunities exist out
there. But at the moment, we will be retiring from service the Mercure, the
Novotel Perth Langley and the Four Points and we will continue to do an
important role on behalf of the commonwealth government, which is exercising
its quarantine powers under section 51 of the Constitution. We will continue to
play that role because that is a commitment that the Premier has made as a member
of the national cabinet. We will continue to do it competently and in a manner
that keeps the people of Western Australia safe.
There may have been other elements
that I missed. The member can remind me.
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