Covid Pfizer vaccine approved for use next week in UK

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55145696

Good news on the horizon!

Vaccine can’t come quick enough. International arrivals are a ticking time bomb for the country. I’d vote for stopping all arrivals but you can’t do that I guess.

...and the virus again may be in the wild following yet another quarantine hotel worker found positive, this time in Sydney. I reckon every international arrival has probably cost the country on average about $50 million in lost economic activity. Each.

Must be those private security guards

this time a HQ cleaner who was working at multiple hotels (both HQ and non HQ)
SA was HQ security who were working second jobs at a pizza restaurant
Vic wasn’t it HQ security who were Uber delivery drivers on the side?

if we’re spending hundreds of millions on hotel quarantine surely we can pay the workers enough in danger money so that they don’t need second/third/fourth jobs

Or why don’t we just do the thing that should’ve happened after the Victorian outbreak, definitely should have happened after the Adelaide outbreak and if we’re not doing it after this one we’re certifiably insane and our nation’s leaders are brain dead:

Quarantine all international arrivals in remote locations. Desert camps, military bases, offshore islands. Where workers at those facilities are not risking unintentionally becoming super spreaders in crowded cities on their days off as the ones who’ve accidentally become superspreaders after CBD hotel quarantine have.

It’s getting ridiculous now. It’s time for our country’s leaders to step up and act.

I agree to that.

Seperate camps for say up to 200 arrivals, well paid staff work the same 2 weeks as the Quarantined arrivals, everyone tested regularly, and final test at end of the 2 week period.
Then everyone heads home.
2 weeks later that crew of workers return to same camp,bit like FIFO, and process is repeated with a new group of overseas arrivals.

WA premier McGowan straight on the blower weighing up the one case in NSW. CHC monitoring like a hawk standing bye waiting on the process.
I bet if their is one more case or 2 the border will close again. Open close open close, really great for Christmas bookings.
Gladys just hide this one under the carpet don't tell him.

Some of these comments in regards to repatriations are fairly out there!

Not sure why they don’t ramp up Howard Springs to its full 3500 bed potential, that would certainly help clear the backlog of 50,000 trying to get home.

Hotel quarantine should work, the problem is the lack of discipline in some places. Don’t forget in most places aircrew still get to hotel quarantine for a night when operating through and requiring rest. Like the Canadians it is only as strong as the weakest link.

The problem Straya has is a lack of accountability when fook ups are made. Jail and serious fines and actually enforcing them are the only way to make people be accountable.

As for treating nationals like asylum seekers which is basically what some are suggesting is just not on.

Quarantine cruise ships, that's what we need (joke). In all seriousness, there are thousands of FIFO workers who put up with these conditions, why not returning travelers?

What about Rottnest / Hamilton Island etc? We used to have purpose built quarantine stations situated away from the "Towns" , the government has had months to come up with a better system.....it just seems the risk far far outweighs the cost of building a better system?

Yep that’s why I’m so pro using Howard Springs to its full potential. I don’t think QLD tourism would be too happy using a resort island! Logistically Christmas Island would cost a huge amount as not bug enough for wide bodies so looking a shuttles. Oh then again Singapore or Kuala Lumpur in narrow bodies would work.

I don’t think many wanting to get home would actually care where or how, they just want to get home. Howard Springs is actually a jack pot in my opinion, outside time, pool time, etc! Much better than stuck in a 5 star hotel room with no opening windows.

Don't forget - according to Mark McGoose, if he doesn't like what is happening in NSW there goes Victoria too. The asreclown has openly stated they'll treat both states as a single entity due to our shared border towns, etc.How TF can anyone believe this is a reasonable - and appropriate - way to manage a pandemic response?

Can't say I've heard much bleating about 'Keeping us safe' from QLD since the election....

Tasmania. :E

Why don't we just make returning Australians pay to make a giant quarantine centre in the middle of WA. We can also make foreign airlines go by Alice Springs first to drop all those dirty CoVID infected citizens off and then load them on charter flights that returned citizens pay for as well.

You know it's their fault, they should have come home sooner.
50 thousand dollars per person should be a reasonable charge. Half up front and half a loan from CBA. Can't have any Govt footing the bill for anything.

We can also publish their names and photos on the abc website (to shame them) so we can accuse them of putting ordinary Australians live in danger by their selfishness.

For those who thought that post was serious shame on you.

Hamilton island would be a logical choice, its got its own airport, close to townsville which is a close has a large regional hospital also has a large army base with aviation and a land craft based there. That said not sure the owner would want reputation the island could gain if turned into a 'plague island'

Love it, please post this in mainstream media to catch a whale!

No other government has abandoned its citizens like Australia has. It’s a disgrace. Now we have international students able to enter ahead of passport holders.