By Stefan Armbruster of SBS News in Brisbane
Refugees and asylum seekers in Brisbane have begun daily protests urging for their release after doctors and human rights lawyers flagged fears that a repurposed hotel could become a coronavirus infection hotspot.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UN Human Rights Commissioner this week issued a global call for detainees to be released, where possible, for their safety.
Concern among more than 80 detainees at the Kangaroo Point Central Hotel has been heightened after a guard employed by contractor Serco tested positive last month.
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In a statement, the Department of Home Affairs said “infection control plans are in place” and “no detainees across the immigration detention network have tested positive to Covid-19.”
Most of the detainees at Kangaroo Point were medivaced from Australian offshore-processing on Manus in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Some have been held there for medical treatment for more than six months.
– Partner –
This article has been republished in brief with SBS and the author’s permission.
Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz
