The Park hotel in Melbourne, which is being operated by the federal government as an alternative place of detention for refugees and asylum seekers, is currently the site of a Covid outbreak – with almost half of the detainees testing positive. It follows months of warnings from the Australian Medical Association and human rights organisations about the “high-risk environment” for transmission – and calls for all people held there to be released.
Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to detained refugee Mustafa Salah, and reporter Ben Doherty about life inside the hotel as this outbreak spreads, and Australia’s responsibility to keep these refugees safe