Bad food, slivers of sun: Life in Sydney's hotel quarantine

SYDNEY (AP) — With our long journey to reach Australia behind us, and 14 days isolated in a hotel ahead of us, the police officer on our bus tried to inject some humor: “If you’re looking to save some money on the hotel,” he joked, “this is your last chance to hook up and share a room."

As a photographer for The Associated Press, I had spent the past 20 days in Japan covering the Olympics. In a bid to limit transmission of COVID-19, officials imposed tough rules on visiting media and athletes that kept us in an “Olympic bubble” for our first 14 days in Tokyo. During that time, we were only allowed to move between the main media center, Olympic venues and our hotel; our meals were mostly from convenience stores. On Aug. 9, I returned to Australia, where I faced another 14 days in a hotel bubble.

Australia shut its borders to the world shortly after the pandemic erupted in 2020. Most Australians who want to travel abroad — be it for work, or to move, or to visit a dying family member in another country — must apply for permission from the government to leave Australia. Those lucky enough to be granted permission to travel must then spend two weeks quarantining in a hotel when they return, at their own expense — approximately US$2,400. The system has stranded tens of thousands of Australians abroad, as there are a limited number of quarantine hotel rooms available, and thus a limited number of Australians are allowed to return home each week.

Many have wondered what these quarantine hotels are like — and how those of us cloistered inside pass the time during those 14 days.

After landing in Sydney, we were welcomed by friendly local health officials who ushered us through customs and baggage collection and then onto the bus, where the jovial police officer ran through...