Australia requires all incoming international travelers to quarantine for 14-days upon arrival at a hotel under close supervision…unless you are Nicole Kidman or other well-connected celebrities. That has sparked outrage across Australia, but is Kidman really the one to blame?
Nicole Kidman Skips Mandatory Hotel Quarantine
Kidman and her husband Keith Urban recently returned to Australia last week via private jet from the United States (so much for Etihad…). Along with their two daughters, they were permitted to travel to their holiday home in New South Wales (NSW) and bypass the two-week hotel mandate imposed upon everyone else.
Kidman has a sprawling ranch in Southern Highlands, a beautiful wine region about 100 miles south of Sydney. As pictures of her self-regulated quarantine appeared in her social media feed, many Australians began to express outrage.
Gladys Berejiklian, the Premier of NSW, sparked even further outrage when she defended the exception by stating, “It’s just a question of where you have the quarantine.” Yet most returning NSW residents must wait out the fortnight in a hotel, even if it is within walking distance of their house.
The fact that Kidman plans to spend $100 million to produce a new TV series in Southern Highlands strikes many as a “pay-to-play” exchange.
Special Treatment Compounded By High Cost Of Quanratine
Kidman is not the only one to escape quarantine. Dannii Minogue, an Australian singer and songwriter, was also allowed to quarantine in her own home. Other high-profile figures were as well.
This special treatment in a fairly egalitarian society is compounded by the fact that Australian states are now charging travelers for the mandatory quarantine…about US$2,000 for the 14-day hotel stay.
So the rich and well-connected get to save money and enjoy the comfort of their own homes while most must not only be a prisoner for two weeks (and watch out for those Qantas flight attendants) but pay a sizable amount of money for the pleasure.
The outrage is understandable…
> Read More: Qantas Flight Attendants Will Serve As Hotel Quarantine Wardens After Security Guard Trysts
Don’t Blame Kidman…
But I can hardly blame Kidman. Why should she and her husband and kids have to be cooped up in a hotel room (or suite) when they can so nicely quarantine in the comfort of their home? As long as they keep their distance from others and remain on the property, they will no more likely spread the virus than had they spent two weeks in a hotel room. In fact, their risk of spread would likely go down since they would not interact with hotel staff for meals, housekeeping, and other items.
The problem is not Kidman, it seems to me, but in not making more exceptions to let citizens quarantine in their own homes. I understand that the mandatory hotel rule provides an extra layer of precaution because it makes compliance easier to monitor. I also laud Australia for largely controlling the virus thus far. But essentially jailing people for two weeks at their expense seems unreasonable if they can just as easily and safely quarantine from the privacy of their own home.
CONCLUSION
It’s an interesting story because it once again it demonstrates the rich and well-connected play by a different set of rules. But I just cannot be upset at Kidman for this. Come on, of course she just wants to be in her home. Maybe NSW and other Australian states should start letting “ordinary” people go home as well…under threat of severe fine for leaving before the 14-day quarantine is over.
image: Etihad
Different strokes for different folks. Ergo the monikers ‘elites’, ‘the one percent’. It’s a club and the 99 percent ain’t in it. And it is indeed pay to play. Politicians know and play that game very well.
To be honest, I haven’t heard much of this outrage.
Anyway, prior to the introduction of mandatory hotel quarantine, people were required to quarantine at home. They changed it, because unsurprisingly, people weren’t doing the right thing and ensuring compliance is significantly more difficult.
That doesn’t mean allowing celebrities to bypass hotel quarantine is right.
Perhaps the solution is hotel quarantine or quarantine at home, but you pay the compliance costs. Still creates an unequal system though.
She’s just the latest on a fairly long list. Little wonder that ordinary people are getting very jack of the restrictions when the connected types just flaunt the requirements, and are permitted to do so by the sleazy hucksters in charge. It makes a complete mockery of the oft-repeated slogan “we’re all in this together”
Why doesn’t Biden say something? (Probably because he forgot or can’t remember who she is). Biden is supposed to be champion of the poor and Xi while Trump is the champion of the racists and Putin.
She should be forced to pay guards, just like Huawei Meng has to in Vancouver to make sure there are no escapes.
LOL what is this nonsense.
Everyone wants to be in their home.
That’s no excuse for it being ok
Judy
Why is Biden required to say anything?
I’ll take morons for $1000 please, Alex . . .
Awww. Ickle Trumptard lacks the knowledge to know that Australia is not part of the USA.
How sad must you be to shove your politics everywhere. Is your life so bad that all you can talk about is politics?
If we go by the standard “which option is safer” then I can see why Kidman goes to her ranch far away while the general population stays in hotel quarantines.
Why make it about us versus them?
Why can’t a “normal” family retreat to their 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in a Sydney suburb as well?
the reason home quarantine won’t work on a large scale in Australia is that the compliance would be just as bad as it would be in the states. the ankle bracelet is a good idea but it is pretty likely that quarantined folk would have visitors over. as an american normally living in Australia, the cultural differences are pretty superficial. beyond that, I don’t see the problem of letting people fly in on a private jet and then quarantine together on a lovely estate. if I could, I would.
Money talks as does the power of celebrity. Maybe we can look forward to Tweets from Kidman / Urban on how they are ‘suffering’ quarantine in one of there many mansions. They’ll probably get bored in Oz & show up back in LA, Nashville or NYC without quaranteeing.
Pardon bad spelling for previous post ! Make that ‘their’, not ‘there’. And ‘quarantining’ not ‘quaranteeing’ .
Classic liberal response to COVID-19 – do as I as say, not as I do. I’m sure she didn’t wear a mask either. Outrageous!
Nah, that isn’t how most liberals operate. Nice try, though.
Andy K: did Nicole Kidman come out in favor of forcing mandatory hotel quarantine on others? If so, please direct me to that source.
Classic trumptard response. Look at me. My life sucks. I must talk about politics. Duh.
Good on ya Andy K.!
Special privileges for citizens deemed more equal than others. How very American of them.
Would anyone have even known if she hadn’t posted on her social media account? At some point the use of social media is self destructive…
I’m impressed that Kidman is tone deaf enough to actually share the fact that she bought her way out of the law on social media, particularly after the Minogue debacle.
Charge everyone the 2K……..
Help pay for those who cannot afford the 14 day stay…….
In fact, why not charge 5K per person for the exception with fines in the 6 figures….??
Publish the list………
I am Australian and we are currently not allowed to travel for leisure. But when they do open the borders it would be very unfair to not offer the option of ankle bracelet home quarantine. If these gadgets are trusted to keep track of criminals, I can’t see why they aren’t being used to control home quarantine. I can easily buy food in advance of my trip to cover the 14 days so I would not need to leave my house. I can leave my car in the airport car park so I have private transport home and not contact anyone. And neighbors could be notified that I am undergoing a 14 day home quarantine and if they see any visitors in my home they should call the police. I am not the type of person who would violate the rules. But I don’t have the kind of money to pay $3000 for hotel quarantine as miles and points cover most of my airfares and overseas hotels, or I stay in very cheap accommodations.
Good luck to you. I hope you can quarantine at home.
Taiwan allows 14 days home quarantine. The government tracks your cell phone location and calls you multiple times a day to make sure you are staying home. Maybe Australia could do something like that so everyone can go home. I know with cell phone tracking, there are some privacy issues, but it is better than being stuck in a hotel for 2 weeks.
In Hong Kong we also have 14 days home quarantine. The government put a wrist bracelet to make sure you are at home (we do not use cell phone tracking due to privacy concern). They will call you a few times during this period, make sure you are ok and at home. My parents did it that’s why I am very familiar. My boyfriend who returned from Los Angeles also did the home quarantine. For people who are concern about grocery shopping, the system is very good, if you have family or friends who has time to get you grocery then ask them to deliver. If you live by yourself like a friend of mine who came back from USA, the HK government have social workers to do the grocery for you. Just simply call a number provided by them. My friend told me they delivered all the grocery shopping within 2 hours and it was 2 huge boxes worth of food all free of charge. Besides grocery shopping, the social service workers will do any essential errands you need them to do (for example: if you have elderly who is at the hospital who needs to be look after by you, they will also send someone to do it within your home quarantine period).