Melton councillor endures ‘over the top’ hotel quarantine experience in Australia

Alan Pearson, who also represents the town on Leicestershire County Council, flew to Perth to spend time with family members, including his grandchildren.

He will spend Christmas and new year effectively locked inside his room with meals being delivered to his door at set times.

When Alan was in the same city on holiday 12 months ago he got caught up in raging bush fires which saw residents evacuated to the coast for their own safety.

He made contact with the Melton Times to explain what he is going through this year as Australia clamps down on the movement of overseas visitors to prevent further spread of coronavirus.

“I was fully aware I would have to experience quarantine here,” said Alan, who is managing director of SAQ International, a sports science company based at Melton’s Pera Business Park.

“I have completed three home quarantine sessions in Melton this year due to having surgery on my shoulder.

“The hotel is nice but the experience is totally different to being quarantined at home.

“You are totally isolated, all balconies and windows are locked and you are not allowed out of your room.”

Alan is staying at the Perth Hyatt hotel at a cost of 2,500 Australian dollars a day, which is about £100.

He had no problem being allowed to travel there because he is an Australian citizen and has a property there.

Alan, who tested negative for coronavirus in a recent test there, has no problems with having to spend 14 days in quarantine and is happy with his room, which has attractive views of the Swan River.

He said: “I took the gamble to come to Perth for Christmas as I haven’t seen family since last January.

“I felt it was worth it as I have not seen my grandchildren for so long.

“I am just concerned the approach is too authoritarian, it’s very much over the top.

“George Orwell 1994 comes to mind.”

Alan said he is unhappy having to pay over the odds for items such as a beer, which costs the equivalent of £6 a bottle compared to the shop price of 70p, and the quality of the hotel food, which he describes as ‘terrible’ and often luckewarm.

Quarantined guests can order takeaways but must buy alcohol from the hotel, he said, and security guards confiscated a bottle of whisky which had been sent in to him by friends.

Despite his frustrations with the current situation, Alan said he had not lost his love for the country.

“It’s still a wonderful place,” he said.

“Great beaches, fantastic weather and brilliant people, just like our Melton residents.”

Australia has comparatively few Covid-19 cases at present and government policies such as the strict monitoring of tourists and other visitors is credited with helping the country clamp down on infection rates which had risen sharply in July and August.