Australia’s COVID-19 quarantine could be cut to eight days for arrivals from low-risk countries

Australia’s mandatory two-week hotel quarantine could be cut to just eight days for arrivals from low-risk coronavirus countries like New Zealand and Thailand, according to research.

New research from mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation and the Burnet Institute of medical research claims it would be possible to safely cut the isolation period to help boost the economy, The Australian reported.

‘Australia could quickly, safely and sensibly manage the reopening of our interstate and inter­national borders — turbocharging the nation’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 recession,’ Minderoo’s chief researcher Steve Burnell said. 

‘Universal 14-day quarantine is an outdated, one-size-fits-all ­approach that is adversely impacting the Australian economy and countless people’s lives.’ 

Australia’s hotel quarantine program was introduced back in March to stop coronavirus from entering the country through returned travellers.

But researchers believe a risk-based model – called ‘traqQ’ – could be implemented to modify the program.

Travellers would be tested at the beginning of their journey and two Covid-19 tests conducted at the end of quarantine, regardless of how long the traveller was isolated for. 

‘Such enhanced testing, when combined with a seven-day quarantine, reduces the risk that individuals remain infectious post-release by a third,’ Dr Burnell said.

Countries would be slotted into five different risk categories from low to high based on the national number of coronavirus cases and testing numbers.

The risk assessment would determine how long travellers are required to quarantine for.

Current trends suggest Cuba, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Togo would be in the low-risk category, with seven days in quarantine.

All states and territories have been identified as very low risk, with researchers determining there is no need for quarantine for domestic travel.  

Europe and the US would fall into the very high risk category as they battle a second wave of the virus.  

Australia’s international border is expected to remain shut until at least the middle of 2021 but officials are working on a travel bubble with New Zealand. 

Kiwis are currently able to travel to NSW and Northern Territory without the need for a 14-day isolation but arrivals to New Zealand are required to complete a fortnight of quarantine.