COVID-19 breach shuts down Perth hotel

Officers attended the Hotel Northbridge on Friday night and immediately shut down the venue.

There are reports officers first told patrons they could not leave the premises.

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They were later lined up, asked to provide their details to police upon exiting and told to self-isolate and get tested for coronavirus as soon as possible.

WA police say a 53-year-old man, who returned home after visiting family in Queensland, failed to comply with COVID-19 directions and attended the hotel.

The man arrived in Perth on August 28 without having applied to re-enter the state.

“On arrival, he complained of non-COVID related symptoms. He was permitted entry to the state and was issued a hospital direction and conveyed by ambulance,” WA police said in a statement.

“After receiving treatment at a medical facility, he was instructed to wait for transport to hotel quarantine.”

However, the man left prior to the transport arriving and was later found at the hotel after checking into a nearby hostel.

“Police spoke with the hotel management who elected to close the hotel and undertake cleaning.”

WA police say there is low risk of exposure to the virus but the man was tested as a precaution.

He will now isolate in hotel quarantine and will be summoned to appear in Perth Magistrates Court at a later date.

Western Australia has hard border restrictions in place, stopping non-WA residents from entering unless deemed an “exempt traveller”.

Emergency services workers, truck drivers who deliver goods to the state for employment and people with specialist skills are some examples of people granted exemptions.

WA has not recorded community transmission for months and had a total of 655 cases as of Friday.

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