Swissotel in Sydney to house infected coronavirus patients

Inner-city hotel to house infected coronavirus patients who have travelled overseas as death toll soars to 11

By Daily Mail Australia Reporter

Published: 00:26 GMT, 26 March 2020 | Updated: 02:09 GMT, 26 March 2020

A five-star Sydney hotel is now in lockdown after being turned into a ‘human health response zone’ where border force officials can keep watch on Australians returning home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Swissotel Sydney in Market Street, in the city’s CBD, is now under police guard after overseas passengers began filing through its doors about 4am on Thursday.

Travellers from the Norwegian Jewel cruise line are believed to currently be isolating in the hotel, after arriving in Sydney  from Hawaii by plane this morning.

Stuck overseas when the coronavirus pandemic shut borders around the world, they arrived home on a Qantas charter flight before Border Force officials drove them to the hotel themselves – desperate to avoid another Ruby Princess disaster.  

Police and security guards are manning the doors to the hotel to ensure no isolated travellers are able to leave.

But permanent residents of the building have been left outraged by the move, telling Daily Mail Australia they had no idea quarantined passengers would be housed there until they saw it on TV.

The hotel (pictured) on Sydney’s Market Street was being guarded by police on Thursday morning

John Murphy, who owns an apartment in the high-rise building, left work early so he could find out what the situation was.

The 66-year-old is in the high-risk category of those affected by COVID-19 and said it was concerning that he was about to get in the same elevators used by passengers.

‘It’s just ridiculous, I can’t believe it – I had no idea it was happening at all,’ he said.

‘We are going to be using the same lifts as these people… this would have to be one of the least suitable hotels in the city, there are 10 floors of permanent residencies.

‘I own an apartment up there and I didn’t know anything about it until this morning.

‘I’ve been told nothing about what measures are going to be taken to keep us apart so I have come home from work early to find out what the hell is going on.

A message on the hotel’s doors on Thursday morning (pictured) said people could only get access by making a request to the concierge or using a secure access card

As of Thursday morning, 11 people have died from coronavirus as the number of cases nationwide surged to 2,675

‘I’m not particularly concerned about myself, but I have friends who live above me who I am worried about.’

The move to keep a close eye on returning overseas cruise ship passengers comes in the wake of the Ruby Princess debacle, which is believed to be a major factor in the rapidly rising total number of coronavirus cases.

Australia currently has just shy of 2,700 confirmed COVID-19 patients, while the death of two Victorian men overnight increased the number of fatalities to 11.

There were 190 new cases identified yesterday in New South Wales alone, taking the state’s tally to 1,219. 

 

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