In a previous post, I described how my recent major career move came into being and in this one, I'll be talking about the complicated quarantine process that I'll soon be subjected to (the next two posts in this series are here: part 2 part 3). As you know this is a fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) role and hence I'll have a back-to-back that does the exact same role so that there's continuous site support. My back-to-back was originally due to fly to Papua New Guinea first but because of an administrative error, I became the first one to travel. This came about after a long period of waiting for the travel exemption to be first negotiated and then granted by the Australian government (the previous exemption granted to FIFO workers was revoked due to the COVID outbreak in PNG).
Even if I were to get on site successfully, there's a non-insignificant risk of catching COVID. One of my colleagues in his early 20s contracted it whilst travelling to the facility but luckily he has since recovered. There had also been reports of people in the "cocoon" (that's what they call the post-quarantine general population area of the camp) testing positive for this dreadful disease. The threat is very real and I can't deny that I'm genuinely worried.
Fortunately FIFO workers are now deemed critical workers and this came at just the right time i.e. we can now register for a COVID vaccine under Phase 1B originally meant for the the elderly and adults with underlying medical conditions. Unfortunately the safer Pfizer vaccine is currently only reserved for healthcare and front-line workers and so even though I'm under 50, I have to get the AstraZeneca jab if I want it now. That being said, I've got a plan to upgrade myself to Phase 1A and score myself a Pfizer vaccine (even though I accept the extremely low blood clot risk). Too bad vaccination couldn't be arranged before I depart but I'll definitely get that sorted when I'm back in Melbourne on my break. Without being vaccinated, I have to be extremely careful on my first rotation.
Even though I've been there before (see this post) and know what kind of local conditions to expect, this FIFO role has been made infinitely more challenging not least because the logistics with travelling is constantly changing due to the fluid nature of how different regions manage this pandemic. As far as I know, this is what the quarantine process will look like for me:
- Departure date confirmed and flights booked. The company has only a quota of 15 a week to send to PNG so only the critical workers are allowed to be there and I'm considered critical.
- Travel approval to PNG to be obtained not later than 21 days before arrival and negative COVID test to be obtained not later than 7 days before arrival.
- Australian travel exemption to be processed on the Monday of the travelling week and needs to be granted before departure.
- Complete a PNG health declaration form a day before landing in PNG.
- Flight to Brisbane (overnight transit) then to Port Moresby.
- First part of the quarantine at Port Moresby (whilst working, either at a hotel or at a quarantine facility). I was told the need to quarantine at Port Moresby is due to insufficient beds in the quarantine section of the work camp.
- Flight from Port Moresby to work camp.
- Second part of the quarantine at the work camp (whilst working) and then a negative COVID test
before being allowed to start work in the "cocoon".
Upon a positive result, 2 consecutive negative results need to be
obtained before being allowed in the "cocoon".
- Around 7 weeks of work on site with
1 day of break every week (there's talk that this will increase to 1.5 or even 2 days per week). This used to be 4 weeks work and 4 weeks break but because of quarantine, rotations have been extended significantly and
hence these break days are necessary. The exact number of days on site is dependent on flight schedules leaving PNG.
- Flight from work camp to Port Moresby (transit) then to Brisbane.
- 14-day quarantine at Brisbane hotel and then a negative COVID test before being allowed to leave quarantine.
- Flight from Brisbane to Melbourne.
- 6 weeks off and then the cycle repeats.
As quarantine takes place in Brisbane on the way back, any outbreaks there will have a definite impact on how the quarantine programme is run but I'll fret over it when it actually happens as there are just too many moving parts in this. The company says it's working hard to make the quarantine process less onerous and it has already reduced 8 weeks of work to 7 by including the arrival quarantine period as work, so fingers crossed it'll get even better. I remember during my last stint there, at the 4th week mark, I was really feeling the need to go home (I wrote a song about it here) so I'm not sure how my mental state would be with 7 to 8 weeks of work, especially when 2 weeks of quarantine actually eats into my 8-week break.
However going back to 4/4 rotation is contingent on mass vaccination in PNG and judging by how slow that's going, I'm not expecting this to happen within this year. This is due to low vaccine supplies and a high level vaccine hesitancy due to misinformation. To give you an idea of how the local population feels about COVID and hence the uphill battle in front of us, here are the amazing results of a company-run survey meant to tell people to get their medical information from authorised sources. I'm not sure if there were prank answers but the fact that those questions needed to be asked in the first place says a lot!
The hardest thing about being in quarantine is that you're not even allowed to open the door and so I'm a little worried that might be too overbearing even though a company-appointed independent psychologist will check in with me at the minimum on days 1 and 7 of the quarantine period. I heard during quarantining in Brisbane, ordering Uber eats is reimbursable seeing that food provided during quarantine can be awful or unhealthy. I'll also have my top-notch exercise bands (in lieu of weights) and skipping rope (for stationary cardio) to ensure I don't get out of shape (a selection of the kit featured below), as well as lots of videos to watch on my Microsoft Surface. Of course there will be lots of song-writing projects to keep me sane. All that is if I don't need to work which I'm sure is rather unlikely judging by the unlimited amount of it I've encountered everyday since I've started.
I've just had lunch with Ision during his break and now checked in at the airport for my flight to Brisbane. I've been warned that there's a chance that Melbourne will be declared a hot spot (seeing that the positive case number has now grown to double digits and counting!) and hence I might be guided to a transit quarantine hotel in Brisbane (i.e. not staying at the one booked by the company). As mentioned earlier, this is the fluid nature of managing this bloody pandemic and I hope I don't go crazy or worse infected—I guess there's only one way to find out. Stay tuned for part two which will detail my actual quarantine experience before I enter the "cocoon".
