Inquiry finds bungled hotel quarantine scheme has cost taxpayers $195m

The Department of Justice and Community Safety, which took over the program in July after the virus escaped quarantine in May and June, has spent $10.90 million to September 30.

From March until late June, all international arrivals were detained for 14 days in hotels before flights into Victoria were cancelled because of the second wave, sparked by the virus escaping quarantine and into the community.

In its interim report the inquiry chaired by former judge Jennifer Coate has recommended that international arrivals to Victoria still continue to be quarantined in hotels for two weeks, but those deemed a lower risk could quarantine at home.

The inquiry recommends the government consider electronically monitoring those quarantining at home using smartphone technology or even ankle or wrist bracelets.

The inquiry also recommends hotels should still be used to detain returned travellers and expats, but with police on site 24/7, a dedicated infection prevention and control unit for each hotel and independent safety auditing.

Premier Daniel Andrews, who said he would respond to the report in the coming days, announced international flights from New Zealand would be able to land directly in Melbourne from Monday.

Mr Andrews said the state would join the trans-Tasman bubble, after seven days in a row of zero COVID-19 cases. As part of the bubble arrangement, New Zealanders would not be subjected to quarantine.

"The next logical step after [opening to NZ], once we've got that reboot of hotel quarantine ... we'll be able to have flights landing in Melbourne again from right across the world," Mr Andrews told the morning press conference on Friday.

Mr Andrews said the virus was "completely and utterly out of control" in other parts of the world.

"The likelihood of people wanting to return to our country, and returning with the virus, is obviously higher than it's ever been. So that'll be a real challenge but I think we're equal to it," he said.

Justice Coate's interim report focuses on giving advice about a new model to quarantine international arrivals.

The inquiry's final report is due by December 21 and is expected to provide an explanation of what went wrong and who should be held accountable for the initial program's failures when it was running from March until late June.

Justice Coate's interim report suggests international arrivals should be assessed on an individual basis by the government for their suitability for home quarantine.

A condition of quarantining at home would be committing to regular testing for COVID-19, the inquiry recommended.

Individuals should also be subjected to penalties for breaching home isolation, the report says.

For hotel quarantine, Justice Coate recommended residents (saying the word "detainee" had negative connotations) should undergo testing during their 14-day isolation period.

Other recommendations included:

• Residents having safe access to fresh air and exercise breaks.
• The government requesting Victoria Police provide a police presence 24/7 at each site.
• Employing dedicated personnel who aren't working across multiple hotels or in other jobs.
• Appointing a dedicated contact tracing team for each facility to "build familiarity and trust with on-site personnel" and keep up-to-date information for all employees.

The report said a new quarantine program must have "clear control and accountability structures in place" that vested ultimate responsibility in the department and minister.

While such a program would have logistical and compliance elements, the fundamental purpose of quarantine is "the public health objective of containing the spread of the disease," the report stated.

And hotel quarantine should operate, in the words to the inquiry of infectious diseases specialist Professor Lindsay Grayson, on the presumption that "all those who are in quarantine are potentially infected, until proven otherwise."

The inquiry was set up to investigate how COVID-19 broke out of hotel quarantine and into the community in May and June, sparking Victoria's devastating second wave.