There are calls for the immediate release of more than 150 Kiwis locked in Australian immigration detention centres over fears they could turn into Covid-19 infection hotspots.
Photos emerging from inside a centre in Sydney showed there was a lack of social distancing measures. One person in the centre said there were 120 people in his building, which didn’t allow for social distancing.
Doctors and human rights lawyers fear their lives are at risk.
Infectious diseases expert Professor David Isaac from the University of Sydney said there are worries for both the guards and detainees.
“One guard in Brisbane has already been infected with Covid-19. We’re worried that if there is a terrible outbreak that it will overload the healthcare system,” he said.
Human rights lawyer Greg Barns said Covid-19 could “spread like wildfire” in the centres.
“You also have a lot of people who have vulnerable health issues,” Mr Barns said.
“So, overall, it’s a very unsafe environment.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations is calling for the immediate release of people in the centres. Over 1100 doctors have also signed a petition for their release.
Australian officials said no detainees had tested positive for Covid-19, infection control plans were in place and they were ready to handle any suspected cases.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said he was looking at New Zealand’s health system and “doing everything I can not to, in any way, contaminate it or worsen the circumstance we have now”.
New Zealanders make up about 10 per cent of people in immigration detention centres out of a total of 1400. The 150 Kiwis in the centres are awaiting deportation after commiting crimes carrying a sentence of a year or more.
Australia paused deportations in March as the pandemic escalated.
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