"Children In Quarantine Not Allowed To Unwrap Their Own Christmas Presents Under COVID Rules"

“Children currently in hotel quarantine over Christmas in Western Australia have been told they will not be allowed to unwrap their own Christmas presents due to the threat of COVID.

Current law mandates that all travelers arriving from other countries undergo a 14 day hotel quarantine before they are allowed to go to their next destination.

This has left many forced to spend Christmas in temporary accommodation, but rules on gift giving have made the experience even more burdensome.

In a letter by the state’s Deputy Chief Health Officer Robyn Lawrence, hotel guests are told that all packages delivered by friends and family ‘will be opened and checked for safety reasons.’

‘As the hotels are busy, please limit the number of packages and deliveries you receive and ask those dropping them off not to wrap them, as they will be opened,’ states the letter.

This means that children will have their presents unwrapped by hotel staff or security guards before receiving them.

Guests have also been banned from sending gifts from their rooms to friends and family, ‘because there is a potential infection control risk.’

Responding to the measures, one hotel guest said it was ‘ridiculous’ that her daughter’s presents would be unwrapped before she receives them.

Authorities have also said they will not consider allowing guests to leave before the 14 day period on compassionate grounds because ‘it could lead to community transmission within Western Australia or elsewhere in Australia.'”