Four Qantas crew members who operated a repatriation flight from Chile have tested positive for the coronavirus but unlike their passengers, who were put into isolation in city hotels, they did not go into quarantine due to a special exemption.
The latest news will raise fears about the safety of operating flights with crew who are not required to lock down for 14 days after travelling overseas and whether this amounts to a hole in Australia’s defences against the pandemic.
The flight from Santiago landed in Sydney on 29 March.
Passengers were put in quarantine for 14 days in city hotels but crew were free to return to their homes under an exemption for airline crew granted by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.
The committee includes all state and territory chief health officers and is chaired by Australia’s chief medical officer.
A Qantas spokesman said the four were among 50 Qantas and Jetstar staff who have tested positive for Covid-19. The company disclosed the number on Friday.
The airline has been under pressure from the government to operate more repatriation flights to bring Australians back from cruises and parts of the world that had much higher levels of coronavirus infections.
Under the exemption, crews do not have to go into isolation for 14 days meaning they are free to go to supermarkets and go home to their families, raising the potential for community spread. Health workers are also covered by the exemption, although NSW has just announced it will provide free accommodation and food for health workers so they do not have to return to their homes after shifts.
Qantas medical director, Dr Ian Hosegood, said the airline was complying with all of the requirements issued by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.
“Crew who return home must also comply with the social isolating requirements currently enforced in the state or territory in which they live just like any other member of the public.”
Staff at Qantas have been alarmed at the lack of personal protective equipment that have been provided by the airline as the coronavirus unfolded. They are now wearing masks and gloves during cabin duties.
This is not the only flight where crew have been infected. NSW Health has published long lists of flights on which passengers who had the virus travelled, listing the nearby rows.
A number of these were flights that carried passengers from the Ruby Princess back to other states. More than 600 passengers from the cruise ship have now come down with Covid-19 and several have died.
Qantas insiders said that some of the Qantas cases are associated with those Ruby Princess flights.
It comes as Qantas and Virgin Australia prepare to resume international services with government-subsidised flights to London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Auckland to bring stranded Australians home.
A repatriation flight, organised by the government, is due to leave Peru later this week.
