A BATHURST woman in quarantine in a Sydney hotel has commended staff and the government for the actions being taken in some very difficult times.
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Liberty Smith, who has been studying in the United Kingdom since September 2019, returned to Australia on Sunday after her father urged her to come home.
She was immediately placed in mandatory quarantine at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, as per the strict rules from the Federal Government that is seeing thousands of travellers spend 14 days under supervised isolation.
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Some of those stuck in quarantine have complained about the situation, and their comments have angered Ms Smith, who says "now is not the time to be whinging".
"I think what infuriates me the most, is people making claims of neglect and expressing their views of this being 'far from a holiday'," she said.
"Not once has anybody mislead me into thinking it would be a holiday. And might I add, anybody who in their right mind thought it would be a holiday is hands down delusional and in need of a reality check.
"We are in a global pandemic for Christ sake. This is far from a holiday for anybody."
Ms Smith said the isolation has been difficult, but hotel staff are doing everything they can to make guests comfortable.
She has been given a room with two single beds and its own bathroom, which she described as "pristine".
Upon arrival, the room was stocked with lots of tea and coffee, toiletries and towels.
Items in the mini bar are complementary, there is high-speed internet available, travellers have $90 per person to spend each day and are able to get room service delivered to them without contact with staff.
Ms Smith also receives a daily call to check on her.
"The Hyatt Regency have gone above and beyond, especially considering the circumstances," she said.
"... In my experience, hotel staff have been extremely accommodating, and should be commended for the service they have provided during this difficult time."
To keep herself busy, Ms Smith is having regular FaceTime calls with her family, exercising and creating a lot of art.
"I only packed an old watercolour palette, some brushes, and two lead pencils, along with a sketchbook so that's been a challenge, although I have been deconstructing the brown paper bags my food is delivered in and using that as a new medium to draw on," she said.
It's not clear what will happen when her isolation period ends, but Ms Smith is doing her best to remain patient and positive.
"Whilst yes, conditions are far from perfect all things considered we don't have it very bad bearing in mind the state of our entire world right now," she said.
"If I have to give up access to outside air, the ability to source my own food, and the joy of seeing loved ones after months apart, all in order to assure the safety and wellbeing of others, then that's exactly what I'll do.
"At the end of the day, I just consider myself lucky to not be stranded on the opposite side of the world from my family throughout this pandemic."
