International travel without hotel quarantine is a step closer with NSW Health and the State Police Force to launch a home quarantine pilot program next month.
Announced by Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, the pilot is to trial a seven-day home isolation period, down from 14 days, for around 175 people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“The participants will be selected by NSW Health, based on a risk assessment framework, and may include some NSW residents, some non-Australian residents, and some Qantas aircrew,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The home quarantine program is critical to bringing more Australians home while keeping the community safe,” she said.
“NSW has quarantined over 245,000 travellers throughout this pandemic, by far the most of any jurisdiction in the country, and this pilot will lay the foundations for us to reunite even more families and friends who are fully vaccinated.”
Ms Berejiklian said hotel quarantine had been an important line of defence throughout the pandemic but, as the State moved towards its vaccination targets, it was necessary to look at new ways of doing things.
The Premier said the pilot would use a mobile phone app, based on the app already in use in South Australia, that used geolocation and face recognition technology to monitor isolation compliance.
She said the app would also provide people with a testing schedule and symptom checker, while privacy would be protected through the same mechanisms as the current Service NSW check-in regulations.
“Random in-person police checks will also be conducted, and the existing penalties for individuals who breach conditions of their isolation still apply,” she said.
Ms Berejiklian said the pilot program would be run in partnership with the Federal Government and findings would inform future quarantine programs.
