Doctors and infectious diseases experts slam special Australian Covid deal for Matt Damon

Doctors and infectious diseases experts have slammed special Covid rules for celebrities like Matt Damon.

The Good Will Hunting star has been allowed to quarantine for 14 days at a large house at Byron Bay instead of having to endure two weeks in a cramped hotel as he prepares to work on a movie with Chris Hemsworth.

Damon, 50, his wife Luciana Barroso, 45, and their daughters, Isabella, 14, Gia, 12, and Stella, 10, are among an elite group who have qualified for an exemption.

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Singer Dannii Minogue in July last year was given special by Queensland Health to quarantine at a Gold Coast property with her son Ethan Smith, fathered by UK-born model Kris Smith.

Oscar winning actor Tom Hanks two months later was given special permission to also quarantine at a Gold Coast mansion so he could film a biopic in Australia about Elvis Presley, despite testing positive to Covid to Australia in March 2020 shortly after arriving from the United States.

University of New South Wales epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise McLaws said the special rules for celebrities were just wrong.

‘I can’t understand how the general community and the Australian general community that’s highly egalitarian would think that this is okay,’ she told the ABC’s 7.30 program.

‘It’s just totally unacceptable from optics but also from infection control.’

The Australian Medical Association’s Western Australia branch president Dr Andrew Miller said the exemptions given to celebrities were too arbitrary and could not be justified.

‘Well, there’s clearly one rule for the rich and one rule for the poor,’ he told the ABC.

‘It shouldn’t matter whether you’re Matt Damon or whether you’re Joe Bloggs or Jane Bloggs. 

‘Everyone should get the same chance as Matt Damon to quarantine somewhere safe for them, that’s comfortable for them, where they have access to fresh air and where they want to be.’

Damon recently said he was excited to be staying in Australia as he joins the cast of Thor: Love and Thunder, alongside Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Christian Bale.

‘I’m so excited that my family and I will be able to call Australia home for the next few months,’ he said.

‘Australian film crews are world renowned for their professionalism and are a joy to work with so the 14 days of quarantine will be well worth it.’

Under existing Covid rules, state health authorities have allowed home quarantine for pilots and airline cabin crew, diplomats, offshore oil and gas workers and visitors from New Zealand.