Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Jetstar has refused to take the blame for a mishap at Sydney airport, which saw a plane full of passengers from Victoria disembark without being tested
- The passengers had been tested in Victoria before they departed, but were supposed to be checked again when they landed in NSW
- Meantime, a woman’s been fined after fleeing hotel quarantine and trying to board an international flight
- The incidents come as NSW and the Northern Territory record new cases of COVID-19, including a U.S. Marine stationed in Darwin
- Globally, the U.S. recorded 65,000 new cases of the coronavirus, a new single-day record for the country
Airline carrier Jetstar has refused to take the full blame for a mishap at Sydney airport, where a plane full of passengers from Victoria disembarked without being tested for COVID-19 symptoms.
The incident earlier this week has been compared to the fatal decision to allow hundreds of passengers to disembark from the Ruby Princess cruise ship in NSW without being tested.
More than 20 deaths across Australia have been linked to the 2700 passengers who disembarked from the cruise ship in March.
Ruby Princess 2.0?
In an interview with the press yesterday, Jetstar boss Gareth Evans said the airline had done the best it could under the circumstances.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to be apportioning blame,” he said.
“There was not a NSW Health official in the aerobridge. There should have been. People should have held the aircraft. They didn’t. The passengers got off. We followed them up as quickly as possible,” he added.
The Jetstar boss also pointed out the passengers aboard the flight had been tested for COVID-19 symptoms in Victoria before the plane departed.
The incident at the airport is the second COVID-19 related breach this week to spark concern.
Catch-ya quarantine
On Wednesday, July 8, a woman escaped from hotel quarantine in Sydney and attempted to board an international flight.
The woman told security and staff she had an exemption to travel. She was later stopped by Border Force officers and taken into police custody.
She’s now been fined $1,000 for the breach and has been returned to quarantine.
Both of the breaches come as new cases of the coronavirus are recorded across Australia, including 14 new cases in NSW alone.
U.S. risk
Of the 14 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours, 13 are linked to returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
The other case is linked to Albury, the border town which may be locked down, as both Victorian and NSW officials implement border closures.
One new case of COVID-19 was also recorded in the Northern Territory. A U.S. Marine stationed in Darwin has tested positive for the virus.
But, health officials said the Marine has had no contact with the public and they weren’t at risk of picking up the infection.
Globally, more than 12.2 million cases of COVID-19 have been recorded.
The U.S. hit a new single-day record of daily cases, with around 65,000 cases recorded in the last 24 hours, according to John Hopkins University.
The death toll in the U.S. has now surpassed 135,000, while the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country is more than 3 million.
