Victoria’s Holiday Inn COVID-19 outbreak is officially over as other states confront new hotel quarantine linked scares.
The Department of Health on Sunday announced the last active coronavirus case connected to the Melbourne Airport hotel was cleared on Saturday.
In all, the cluster infected 24 people after a Holiday Inn worker first tested positive on February 7.
It led to a statewide five-day “circuit breaker” lockdown and the suspension of international flights to Melbourne.
Victoria is continuing to pay an estimated $ 1 million a day as part of 12-month contracts with transport, health and hotel providers despite most of the state’s quarantine hotels remaining non-operational.
The state clocked up its 16th day in a row without a new locally acquired case on Sunday and now has just two active cases.
Despite mounting pressure, acting Premier James Merlino reiterated no decision has been made on when to restart international flights and with it the hotel quarantine program.
“We want flights to resume … it will happen when it’s safe,’ he told reporters on Sunday.
It comes as interstate health authorities investigate new cases with suspected links to quarantine hotels in Brisbane and Sydney.
A Brisbane quarantine hotel has been placed in lockdown as officials investigate an infected traveller for links to an infected Brisbane hospital doctor.
In NSW, a vaccinated Sydney hotel quarantine security guard has tested positive after working at both the Sofitel Wentworth and Mantra at Haymarket.
In response to the Queensland outbreak, Victorian authorities have contacted 2233 permit-holding travellers who arrived in the state from Brisbane between Thursday and Saturday.
There have been no primary close contacts or visitors to the low-risk sites identified among the group.
Mr Merlino said he was comfortable keeping the border open to Queensland for the time being.
“But it’s important to note, this thing changes in a moment,” he added.
Australian Associated Press