Gemma Mai, 35, who lives in New South Wales, travelled from the Gold Coast to Melbourne thinking she could visit the Victorian capital but was denied entry and put into hotel quarantine
A healthcare worker has been put into hotel quarantine and separated from her son for 14 days after being caught out by Victoria’s border closure with NSW.
Gemma Mai, 35, who lives in Tweed Heads just one street away from the Queensland border, travelled to the Gold Coast last week believing she could then fly on to Melbourne.
She said she thought she would be fine to visit the city because she left New South Wales before 11:59pm on January 1, when Victoria slammed shut its border.
But on arrival in Melbourne, officials told her that because she had been in NSW in the previous 14 days, she would have to quarantine at a supervised hotel and pay $3,000.
After spending more than three hours at the airport following her arrival on Sunday afternoon, where she was even escorted to the toilet, she was taken to a hotel in Docklands.
Ms Mai told Daily Mail Australia she had not seen any information before her flight saying her travel plans would result in her being refused entry.
‘Nothing tells you that, nothing says that,’ Ms Mai claimed.
Ms Mai said she had kept up-to-date with the latest advice on the border but could not find any information alerting her to that she would be denied entry because she had been in New South Wales in the previous 14 days
Ms Mai was provided with a Detention Notice on arrival at Melbourne Airport on Sunday as she was directed to hotel quarantine
‘I kept up to date with everything knowing if I’d be able to travel.
‘As soon as I found out that Victoria was closing their borders to NSW and had to be out by 11.59pm on January 1, I got out.
‘I went straight to Rydges. I booked into the hotel near Gold Coast airport. I stayed there for two days, allowing me to travel to Victoria.
‘There’s no other information that was provided, not even questions either at the airport.
‘I think they’d be able to stop travellers travelling to Victoria from state-to-state. Why would you just not stop them there and then?’
Ms Mai, who is a clerical manager at a radiologist, said she had not been to a known hotspot area before travelling to Queensland for her trip to Melbourne.
‘I had not been anywhere. I had only been to my place of work, my house and my parents house, which is located not very far from me,’ she said.
Ms Mai said she found the situation at Melbourne Airport to be ‘confronting’ and officials provided her with little information other than ‘you’ll have to go into 14 days hotel quarantine’.
Her and two others who were told they had to quarantine were shocked by the decision.
She was provided with a detention notice that said she was a prohibited person under the NSW Border Scheme Directions, having arrived in Victoria after 11.59pm on December 20.
There was no option to immediately return to the Gold Coast, or NSW, she said.
Ms Mai had only planned to be in Melbourne for a few days before returning home to her son and job as a clerical manager at a radiology
On the second morning of her hotel quarantine, Ms Mai was provided with a letter informing her Victoria was reviewing the circumstances of people returning from New South Wales
She had planned to be in Melbourne for only a couple of days to see friends for personal reasons, before returning home to her 11-year-old son and job.
Following her quarantine stint, Ms Mai said she would have to head straight back home.
She said her case is being assessed by authorities.
On her second morning of quarantine, a letter was slipped under her door informing her Victoria’s Health Department had started a process to review the circumstances of people returning from NSW.
The review will look into circumstances where quarantine may be more suitable at a private residence.
Victoria banned anyone from entering from New South Wales, even its own residents returning home, from 11.59pm on January 1.
‘The state of NSW has been designated as a Red Zone and the Northern Beaches a Hot Zone,’ the Victorian Government said.
‘Victorians visiting New South Wales cannot return to Victoria unless an exception (eg resident of border community) or exemption applies.’
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Victorian Health Department for comment.