SAM ARMYTAGE:
Nearly 400 returned travellers quarantined at a hotel in Sydney have been moved overnight after NSW Police determined the hotel did not meet quarantine standards. Three new cases were recorded in the state yesterday, while Victoria reported 148 new cases and eight deaths. There was good news for Queensland with no new cases, despite concerns over an outbreak linked to the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre.
Joining us now is Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Michael Kidd. Michael, good morning to you. So in Sydney we've seen a security guard breaching self-isolation directives- directions, now this latest relocation of guests at the Travelodge. How well- I mean, we don't have any cases out of that Travelodge at the moment but the hotel is obviously disgustingly dirty. So is quarantine working despite that?
MICHAEL KIDD:
Look, it's absolutely essential that our quarantine process is working and is working well to protect the health and well-being of the people of Australia. To date we have had over 94,000 Australians who've gone through hotel quarantine - 94,000 Australians who've returned home to their families and to their loved ones and have been through this process. But we do know that it's absolutely essential that the infection control measures in place in hotel quarantine are being very strictly adhered to, and it's very heartening to see that this has been monitored very closely in New South Wales as we know is occurring in the other states now as well.
SAM ARMYTAGE:
Okay. Now the University of Queensland is working on a vaccine and it reached a major milestone overnight. Scientists say all the results to date show it is safe and is likely to provide protection against COVID-19. So is it a viable candidate moving forward, this vaccine, worldwide?
MICHAEL KIDD:
Well certainly the vaccine candidate from the University of Queensland, yes, is one of the viable candidates which is continuing to be developed. Again, very heartening to see that news about the reports on what's happening with the progress with the trial there. We're very fortunate in Australia to have some of the best vaccine researchers in the world who are working on COVID-19.
SAM ARMYTAGE:
This is really exciting for Queensland. Okay, Michael Kidd, thank you for your time today.
Contact
