Authorities have confirmed seven cases of the hantavirus linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, with an additional two cases under investigation.
The latest group of evacuees from the vessel includes four Australian citizens, one permanent resident, and a New Zealander. They touched down in the Netherlands earlier today after leaving the ship.
These individuals are scheduled to board a flight to the RAAF Base Pearce near Perth within the next two days.
Upon arrival, they will be immediately transferred to the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience. There, they will undergo a mandatory quarantine period of at least three weeks.
As these travelers prepare for their stay, here’s an inside look at the Bullsbrook facility and the conditions they will encounter.
The Bullsbrook Centre was established by the federal government in mid-2021 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic to serve as a quarantine and resilience hub.
The Bullsbrook centre was commissioned by the federal government in mid-2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was one of three such facilities designed to accommodate returning Australians, with a similar 500-bed centre built in Pinkenba, Brisbane, and a larger 1000-bed centre in Mickleham, Melbourne.
But by the time the 500-bed Bullsbrook facility was completed and handed over to the WA Government in October 2022, mandatory quarantining of COVID-19-exposed travellers had already been abolished.
Despite this, then-premier Mark McGowan remained adamant that the centre would be put to use in some capacity.
It did briefly house bushfire evacuees in 2023 but has lain dormant since and was handed back to the federal government’s Department of Finance.
‘State-of-the-art’ accommodation lying dormant
Heralded by the federal government at the time as “state-of-the-art” accommodation, the facility was built with quarantine requirements in mind.
The neat rows of terraced apartments all feature separate open-air entrances and staircases to allow for safe movement and food deliveries without the risk of cross-contamination.
The apartments are fitted with customised ventilation systems to prevent the spread of infection and feature easy-to-disinfect surfaces and furnishings.
Built with long-term residence in mind, the apartments all come with their own bathrooms and kitchenettes.
However, the centre is set up to provide centralised food and laundry services.
There’s also room for health services on site.
Despite a critical shortage of low-income housing in Perth, both state and federal governments have struggled to re-purpose the accommodation.
In early 2023, there was a proposal for it to be used as accommodation for regional and international students struggling to find housing in Perth’s tight rental market.
However, the centre was deemed unsuitable due to the lack of surrounding infrastructure and distance from the University of WA – around 50 kilometres.
Later that same year, there was speculation that the Department of Defence might take over the site, but in the end it fell into the hands of the finance department.
There have been repeated calls for the centre to be used to help house Perth’s homeless, but these have also failed, seemingly due to similar misgivings about the lack of surrounding infrastructure.
The six cruise ship passengers are expected to remain at the centre under newly updated health orders for at least three weeks, although that period may be extended.
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