Victoria set to close its Covid quarantine camp

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• By Avi Yemini

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Victoria’s $580 million Covid-19 quarantine hub will close eight months after it was opened.

The hub, at Mickleham in Melbourne’s north, opened in February and housed just 2168 people at a cost of $267,527 per guest.

Victoria’s $580 million Covid-19 quarantine hub will close eight months after it was opened after housing just 2168 travellers.

That’s $267,527 per guest.

Like all taxpayer-funded pandemic expenses… money well spent.
https://t.co/GG3Xp5WuwU

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) October 5, 2022

The Victoria state government announced the closure on Tuesday saying demand for the facility did not justify its continuance.

Police Minister Anthony Carbines said the hub - which housed international travellers, frontline workers and Victorian community members - had “served its purpose”.

"Its closure is another step in our recovery from the pandemic," he said.

He said the facility would be mothballed but remained as “an insurance policy in the event of a future pandemic, or to provide accommodation in emergencies like natural disasters”.

The facility was first announced by the Victorian government during the state's fourth lockdown in June 2021. It was opened in February 2022 and will be closed next week.

The closure comes after the Queensland government closed its multi-million dollar quarantine centre in August.

That centre saw just 730 residents use its facilities and cost the government more than $220 million.