Kerry Stokes ‘granted exemption from strict quarantine rules’

It has been reported that mining and media mogul Kerry Stokes was granted an exemption from strict quarantine rules when he landed back on Australian soil earlier this month. Stokes and his wife are said to have landed in Perth on April 8, having previously been locked down in his penthouse near the luxury ski resort of Aspen, Colorado.

According to WA Today, who exclusively broke the story, the billionaire and his wife Christine Simpson Stokes were allowed to complete their mandatory 14-day self-isolation stint in their Dalkeith mansion, rather than being forced to stay in a hotel or on Rottnest Island like others returning to WA from overseas.

The news outlet reported on Thursday that WA Police granted the exemption – having also received advice from the State Health Incident Coordination Centre – on the basis that Stokes, 79, had recently undergone a medical procedure.

According to the federal Health Department’s website exemptions can be made on “compassionate or medical grounds”, as well as for aviation crew, marine crew, unaccompanied minors, transit passengers and diplomats.

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The guidelines came into effect in WA – and across the rest of the country – at the end of last month, when Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that all Australians returning from overseas would be forced to enter a strict 14-day quarantine period in the town or city they arrive in, rather than being permitted to return to their own homes.

“States and territories will be quarantining all arrivals through our airports in hotels and other accommodation facilities for the two weeks of their mandatory self-isolation before they are able to return to their home,” he said at the time. And, announcing the strict rules back in March, WA Premier Mark McGowan stressed that there would be “no exceptions on this” for any returning West Australians.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison was also asked about the importance of adhering to quarantine rules during this afternoon’s press conference.

A reporter asked: “Prime minister, you mentioned before how dangerous this virus is. How important is it, though, that people continue to adhere to the quarantine measures in place? And are there any circumstances under which anybody should seek to make themselves exempt from those quarantine measures, irrespective of their status in society?”

To which Morrison replied: “We’re all in this together. All of us. And I think that’s the expectation of all of Australians.”