"Due to[C’s] behaviour they were unable to obtain the necessary information in order to determine if[C] qualified for a wellness walk and the verbal abuse received meant that this could not be offered at this time,"Queensland Health's submission to the QHRC said.
Queensland Health also said moving people in and out of quarantine presented a transmission risk and fresh air breaks were not a"simple process",requiring escorts and surface cleaning to be done.
"The appropriateness of wellness breaks must be considered in this context as moving people in and out of quarantine may defeat our goal of isolating persons who may have COVID-19,"it said.
"To properly facilitate a wellness break would potentially put additional people at risk,including other guests,hotel staff and Queensland government staff managing quarantine."
QHRC commissioner Scott McDougall said the Queensland government needed to address the failures that were against the woman's rights.
"The commissioner considers that the state of Queensland’s failure to provide[C] with daily access to fresh outdoor air has limited her right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty,"the report said.
Queensland Health said the difficulty with requiring hotels that had open windows or a balcony in the draft report as a"hard rule"was a shortage of hotel supply.
The QPS agreed to facilitate fresh air breaks.
"However,where a quarantine hotel houses hundreds of people,limited resources means it is not possible to provide air breaks to everyone who wants them,"the QPS said.
Despite this,the report said there needed to be more progress to treat quarantined individuals with humanity and respect.
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"Alternatively[if windows and balconies could not be provided],the right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty may be fulfilled by the provision of fresh air breaks,"it said.
Mr McDougall ordered the QPS and Queensland Health to include opening windows or balconies as a minimum standard for quarantine hotels.
He also advised they provide information to those in quarantine to reduce risks of people falling between service gaps as well as informing them of their rights and expectations of quarantine conditions.
There were 2646 quarantine hotel rooms occupied across Queensland as of Monday this week.
Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Michael Cope welcomed the recommendation after receiving complaints from those in quarantine.
“The QCCL’s position that those in quarantine are entitled to fresh air has been vindicated by the Queensland Human Rights Commissioner,"he said.
“Hotel rooms are not meant to be lived in 24 hours a day for 14 days."