Australia’s Delta Strain Outbreak Traced Back to Hotel Quarantine

Hotel quarantine workers in PPE are seen at the Intercontinental Hotel in Melbourne, Australia, on April 8, 2021. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

The outbreak of the highly infectious Indian Delta strain of the CCP virus in the Australian state of Victoria has been traced back to a person who was in hotel quarantine in the state.

Acting Premier James Merlino said authorities genomically linked the west Melbourne Delta cluster to a man who arrived in Australia from Sri Lanka on May 8. The man tested positive on that same day and was later moved from the Novotel Ibis to the Holiday Inn “health hotel” on May 14 before being released on May 23.