Panic, fear and Covid-19 inside a Melbourne hotel

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