Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have reportedly avoided Australia’s mandatory 14-day hotel stay following their flight from the United States.
Reports said the pair and their two daughters, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, were granted permission by the New South Wales Government to self-isolate at their Southern Highlands mansion after arriving in Sydney on Monday.
The state’s public health orders require all overseas travellers to quarantine in a hotel. Exemptions apply only for those with “strong medical, health or compassionate grounds” or people transiting out of the state to an international destination other than a Pacific Island country.
According to Sunrise, the cast and crew of Kidman’s new mini-series Nine Perfect Strangers have reportedly been given permission to also quarantine at the mansion.
Filming for the series will begin on August 10 and take place at various locations in NSW, according to the Southern Highland News.
The exemption was met with backlash as Australians on social media questioned the government’s decision.
“Why did Premier Gladys Berejiklian allow Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban to ‘quarantine’ in their Southern Highlands mansion and not in a hotel like every other single international arrival into NSW?” the NSW branch of Young Labor posted on Twitter.
“Does everyone have the option to pay for private quarantine, or do they have to say they’re in the entertainment industry to get the waiver?” one wrote.
“This is not right, we [are] in a pandemic and the authorities must treat it seriously, this is double standards!” another commented.
Kidman’s news came after Dannii Minogue and her ten-year-old son Ethan were revealed to enter isolation at a private Gold Coast property instead of a hotel last week.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young told the Sydney Morning Herald Minogue was allowed to avoid hotel quarantine because there was a “COVID-safe plan approved for her industry”.
Dr Young said select individuals can apply for exemptions to hotel quarantine, including those in the Australian Defence Force, entertainment industry and sporting groups.
“There are a number of people who have come under that category I’ve given an exemption to because they have third party arrangements in place, that I’m confident meet all the requirements that we have in place for hotel quarantine.”
