Australian tries to escape from quarantine hotel with… rope from sheets

A man in Perth Australia escaped from the mandatory quarantine at a hotel throwing a makeshift sheet of sheets from a fourth-floor window, police announced today. After arriving in the city on the west coast of the country by domestic flight from Brisbane, his application for entry was rejected based on strict entry rules in the state that aim to prevent coronavirus from entering from another part of the country, according to APE.

The man was informed that he would have to leave the state within 48 hours and was taken to a hotel for temporary quarantine, but shortly before 01.00 this morning (20.00 Greek time yesterday) “he came out of a fourth floor window using a sheet of sheets and left the area “, said the police of Western Australia in a post on Facebook. Authorities also posted photos of the makeshift rope hanging from a rooftop window and reaching street level. Police arrested the man elsewhere in the city about 8 hours later and accused him of non-compliance with instructions and submission of “false / misleading information”.

Authorities did not reveal his identity but said he was 39 years old and had a negative coronavirus test, nor did they give any reason for his actions. Australia has recorded far fewer cases and deaths from coronavirus than many other developed countries, in part because it has closed national and internal borders and imposed mandatory quarantine on hotels for anyone arriving from abroad or – in times of turmoil – from another state. The policy, however, has led to incidents of escape, such as the case of a woman accused of going down two balconies earlier this month and breaking down a door to escape quarantine in Cairns, in the northeastern part of the country.