
Two international travellers who flew to Melbourne instead of going into hotel quarantine in New South Wales have returned a second negative result for COVID-19.
The travellers, a 53-year-old woman and her 15-year-old son, arrived in Sydney on Saturday from Frankfurt, Germany via Tokyo, Japan and boarded a domestic flight to Melbourne without quarantining in New South Wales.
The negative test means the pair’s more than 170 close contacts, who have been in self-quarantine, are now free to end their isolation.
That figure included all passengers and crew on the Sydney-to-Melbourne Virgin Airways flight the pair were on, plus five staff members at Melbourne Airport.
“The two international travellers are not showing symptoms of COVID-19 and have had no known contact with a positive coronavirus case,” Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said in a statement.
“They will remain in mandatory quarantine for 14 days and will be tested again on day 11 of their quarantine.”
NSW Police yesterday apologised for the mishap and said it would be reviewing and strengthening its practices at Sydney International Airport in response to the incident.
More to come.