‘Women in prison have access to these’: Australian traveller quarantined in a hotel for 14 days is told pads and tampons are NOT ‘essential’ by staff – and is advised to ‘order them online’
- Traveller quarantined in a hotel for 14 days has sparked fury on social media
- The woman claimed she was told by staff pads and tampons are not essential
- She’s staying at a Perth hotel as part of the Australian government’s tough rules
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A traveller quarantined in a hotel for 14 days of isolation has sparked fury on social media after claiming she was told by staff sanitary pads and tampons are ‘not essential’ so she was required to order them online.
The woman is facing a mandatory two-week stay at a Perth hotel after the Australian government announced travellers returning from overseas will be forcibly quarantined under tough restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
On Tuesday, she claimed she requested sanitary products from reception only to be told she needed to organise her own delivery by ordering them online.
The Australian government announced every traveller returning from overseas will be forcibly quarantined in hotels under tough restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus (left and right: Guests have been sharing pictures of where they are isolating around the country)
The woman is facing a mandatory two-week stay at a Perth hotel (file image of travellers at Sydney Airport on March 28 – the day before the isolation rules came into force)
‘I have been notified by the hotel and the doctor that female sanitary products including pads and tampons are not essential items and you will have to organise a delivery,’ she said in a Facebook group.
‘When I asked if they had some I could buy or if the doctor could get some from a pharmacy or supermarket before he comes again in the coming days, they said I would need to complete an online order which could be delivered to reception.’
An Australian Government Department of Health spokesman told Daily Mail Australia: ‘The management of returned travellers while in quarantine is handled by the states and territories in their own jurisdictions.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Western Australia’s Department of Health for comment.
Each hotel is being staffed with experienced doctors, nurses and mental health professionals. Each day, guests have access to registered nurses, assistant nurses, and a GP who will do a daily round of the hotel.
According to the NSW government, parents are now supplied with nappies and other required specialty items for children at hotels.
The traveller cooped up in a hotel for 14 days of isolation claimed she was told by hotel staff sanitary pads and tampons are ‘not essential’ so she was required to order them online
After the woman shared her experience online, many were furious to hear the woman had to find her own way to buy feminine care products from her Perth hotel.
‘I completely understand why we are being told to stop complaining due to the fact other countries are suffering far worse than we are during this virus however women in prison still get access to feminine hygiene necessities,’ one woman said.
‘We are not prisoners. It’s absolutely disgusting. I can handle the food being below average and cold but being denied essential feminine hygiene products is dehumanising and wrong.’
A second woman said: ‘How is it not an essential item? That’s so f***d up.’
A third said: ‘Whoa this is insane – what do they expect you to do, bleed all over their white sheets and leave them in the hallway? Hope you are okay.’
A fourth said: ‘This is so not ok! It’s a basic item which should be accessible to you.’
Some women living in Perth kindly offered to drop the products off at the hotel where she’s staying, to which she responded saying she will keep them updated if her online delivery fails.