Two women from South Australia who allegedly breached quarantine after being refused entry to Western Australia have been taken into custody.
Police say the women, aged 19 and 22, arrived in Perth on a flight from Adelaide on Monday night intending to holiday and visit family.
They were directed to quarantine at the Novotel Hotel in Perth until return flights could be arranged.
It's alleged the women, who had not applied to enter the state, left the hotel early on Tuesday and caught a taxi to a unit block in Coolbellup.
Police attended the units on Tuesday and took the two women into custody.
They have each been charged with failing to comply with a direction under the Emergency Management Act and will face Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Acting police commissioner Gary Dreibergs said the pair had not been tested for COVID-19 but the health department had advised they did not pose a significant health risk.
He declined to say how many people they had been in contact with or how they managed to breach security, noting that the matter was still before the courts.
"It's very disappointing. It's a very serious matter," he said.
"We established hotel quarantine to assist our community. It isn't there for detention and when people do breach the quarantine, it really does rock the trust of our organisation."
Mr Dreibergs said WA Police would change their protocols to ensure police were present at hotels in "high-risk" cases where the people involved had been denied entry to the state and were deemed to be a threat of leaving quarantine.
But he said the vast majority of the "tens of thousands" of people who had gone through hotel quarantine had done the right thing.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
