Avoiding Catastrophe in a High-Risk Environment: AUSMAT at Howard Springs

Abstract

The Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) led the implementation, establishment and management of Howard Springs International Quarantine Facility at the Centre for National Resilience from October 2020 to May 2021. The operation is internationally renowned for its success to mitigate leakage of the coronavirus disease from the quarantine facility to the community during a national policy of virus elimination or suppression. The operations success led to other Australian jurisdictions seeking to replicate the quarantine model. Here, we use three theoretical frameworks to describe AUSMATs approach to risk mitigation at the quarantine facility.

Keywords

• covid-19, quarantine, emergencies, disease outbreaks, medical assistance