A Queensland golf resort once favoured by media giant Kerry Packer has been earmarked as a coronavirus quarantine facility.
More than 1000 people have isolated themselves at home in Queensland, according to the state’s chief health officer Jeanette Young.
Self-isolation is a precautionary measure to help contain the virus, required of people who have been in China recently or in direct contact with a confirmed coronavirus case.
Five people in Queensland have been confirmed as having the virus.
The Gold Coast hinterland’s Ramada Resort Kooralbyn Valley says on social media that its Packer Lodge had been reserved by the state government for use as a temporary isolation and quarantine facility.
A Queensland Health spokesperson says the government is looking at every measure to ensure those who need to isolate themselves can do so.
This includes preparing places for anyone who cannot isolate themselves in their own home.
It is understood no one is currently in isolation at the 30-room lodge, which is located about 300 metres away from the main building and where the late Packer stayed when he played polo and golf at the resort.
It’s unknown if any other facilities in Queensland have been earmarked for similar quarantine measures.
The hotel said its decision came after it had lost business as Chinese tourists were banned from travelling to Australia due to the coronavirus. It had also been affected by the drought and a bushfire last year.
The resort would soon be up for sale or looking for a strategic partner.
If used as an isolation facility, movement in and out of the lodge would be strictly controlled and enforceable by law, similar to the quarantine facility near Darwin.
“The risk to the local residents is zero, as long as people do not trespass or break into the quarantined area without prior approval,” says the hotel.
Police or the army would provide security and Queensland Health staff would check on those in isolation every day, it said.
