Fears are growing Australia's hotel quarantine system may be powerless to stop highly-contagious strains of COVID-19 from escaping into the community.
The UK variant of the virus - which has forced the country into a national lockdown until mid-February to stem the spread of cases - has already been detected in 10 travellers upon their return to Australia in the past month.
Coronavirus has now broken out of Sydney's hotel quarantine program four times in the same period - stoking fears the new strains could be driving a resurgence in cases in New South Wales.
Known as the B.1.1.7 'super strain', the UK variant is feared to be 70 per cent more transmissible and to spread more easily among children.
Australia's hotel quarantine system may be powerless to stop potent new strains of COVID-19 from spreading, experts fear. Pictured: Digital signs encouraging customers to wear face masks at Westfield Bondi Junction on Monday
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant confirmed last month health officials had detected two cases of the virus strain in returned travellers quarantined in Sydney.
Another four cases of the strain have so far been found in Victoria, as well as three in Perth and one in South Australia.
The president of the Australian Medical Association Omar Khorshid said the strain posed a significant threat to the national hotel quarantine program - which is already the source of repeated outbreaks since the start of the pandemic.
'We've already seen our quarantine systems fail significantly with the virus escaping from quarantine in Victoria, NSW and South Australia,' Dr Khorshid told The Australian.
'But with this highly transmissible variant of COVID, either the UK or South African one, there's going to be more potential for that spread to occur from an infected traveller to a quarantine worker.'
Sydney's most recent Berala cluster - now linked to 15 COVID-19 cases - was triggered when a patient transport worker visited a BWS liquor store after catching the virus while driving returned overseas travellers to a health facility.
Dr Khorshid said the emergence of more contagious strains should trigger a review of the standard of PPE used by staff working in close contact with returned travellers.
Pictured: Travellers arrive at a hotel in Melbourne on December 7. There are fears the new strains are driving a resurgence in cases in New South Wales
'I think we need to accept that with this more transmissible variant, there is going to be more need to look at making sure that the PPE is of adequate quality,' he said.
The arrival of the new UK strain has led to calls for those seeking to return to Australia to be tested for COVID-19 in their country of origin.
'I think it would be a great safety mechanism to ensure that people coming out of many countries around the world have a test and confirm they are negative before they board a flight with hundreds of other Australians,' WA Premier Mark McGowan said on Tuesday.
Mandatory testing of Australians returning home is seen as important in keeping coronavirus out of the country. Pictured, a nurse tests a patient in Wollongong after Greater Sydney was put on high alert following a coronavirus outbreak
'And I think that safety measure should be implemented. To me, this is a no-brainer.'
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said mandatory testing of airline passengers is not the answer as it could give a false sense of confidence on arrival.
'Most of the airlines do it anyway and on all the flights that we're bringing back to Australia directly as a Commonwealth, we're doing it,' Mr Morrison told 3AW radio.
'But we should stress that that doesn't change the risk.
Travellers to Australia should be tested for coronavirus and return a negative result to board a flight, Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan says. Pictured, a returned Australian entering hotel quarantine in Melbourne on Monday
'In some cases the argument is that it can be accentuated, it can highlight it, because people can be asymptomatic ... or the virus hasn't manifested itself yet at the time of travelling and that can create a complacency on the other side.'
Labor health spokesman Chris Bowen said it was important that more Australians were given the opportunity to return home.
'But obviously this new strain in the United Kingdom is concerning,' he said.
'So sensible measures like increased testing ... do seem to me to be a sensible, good faith suggestion.'
