The problem with self-isolation

[scaredeycat]

I was chatting with a colleague today, a Professor of Medicine from the University of Tasmania. Thus far the state has done a reasonable job in restricting the entry of infected individuals, contact tracing and preventing the spread through the community. Obviously if Border Protection had been on their game The Ruby Princess debacle and the entry of dozens of infected travellers via the airports wouldn't have happened - that's a subject for a different thread. The job here is to stop further spread through the island. At present, infected subjects who are sick enough are hospitalised, while those who test positive but aren't that sick are told to go home and self-isolate. Obviously they are allowed a couple of weeks to get over the illness and then head back into the community. No problem, one would think. But on further reflection, the problem that isn't addressed is that the environment at home then becomes contaminated, and the virus can survive on surfaces for several days after the host has recovered. All well and good if the home is thoroughly disinfected, but how certain can we be that this is actually the case? Maybe other family members or visitors are unknowingly being infected and going on to spread the virus through this manner?
His suggestion is that these relatively well people should be separated from the community in "medi-hotels", under government supervision. Given that the Farrell family - owners of Wrest Point Casino - attracted a huge backlash from the Tasmanian community by standing down most of their staff when the lockdown came into force, I would suggest that the least that they can do to give something back to the island is by providing their flagship hotel Mac01 as the first of the medi-hotels. They have certainly managed to accumulate a massive fortune through their monopoly on the pokies in Tasmania.
I think that the Professor has a point...

 

[RooFlyer]

The Hospital already has the Fountainside university accommodation (for non locals - until very recently, a hotel right next to the Royal Hobart Hospital) under its control (awaiting case surge), and then there is the former MidCity hotel, now also Uni Student accommodation which I doubt has many residents (could be wrong).

But the Federal Group is the 5 star option