Detainees Fear Infection as Nearly Half of the Population Tests Positive for the Delta Variant
Inside the confines of his room in Melbourne’s Park Hotel, Salah Mustafa, a refugee who has been detained for eight years, spends his days in fear. The anxiety grows as Covid-19 cases rise within the facility, where he, along with other detainees, feels trapped. Mustafa is isolated in his room, his only company the constant worry that the virus will eventually reach him and his family.
“I sit in the room and I am afraid. We are all afraid,” Mustafa says, reflecting the sentiments of many who find themselves in the same situation. While he and his son are currently negative, the uncertainty of the days ahead looms large. The outbreak inside the hotel has spread quickly, with nearly half of the refugees and asylum seekers housed there now testing positive for the Delta strain.
Twenty of the 46 detainees at the hotel are confirmed cases, and one has already been hospitalized. Staff and detainees alike describe the hotel as a breeding ground for the virus. The shared spaces—such as the kitchen and the lift—further contribute to the rapid spread, while detainees wait anxiously for test results and treatment that may come too late.
