BACKPACKERS at the Loxton Harvest Trail Lodge – who were tested for COVID-19 earlier this month – have all returned a negative result.
Out of the 40 travellers residing at the lodge, 35 were tested for coronavirus on Friday, June 5, on SA Pathology’s recommendation to have all seasonal workers in the Riverland area tested for the virus.
Loxton Harvest Trail Lodge manager Bronnie Allen said the hostel was happy to comply with any suggestions from SA Health to keep the community safe.
“I’d like to think it says to the Riverland community that businesses, ours in particular, care about the community and care about the safety of everybody,” she said.
“The fact that (the tests) have all come back negative to me puts the icing on the cake.”
While Ms Allen had no qualms about having the lodge’s backpackers tested, she said she did wonder whether other hostels were asked to do the same.
In April, backpackers at the Loxton lodge were the target of some alleged racist behaviour, which was quickly admonished by the Loxton community.
Ms Allen said there was a negative stereotype around backpackers because they came from other countries, but all the guests at the Loxton lodge had been living and working in the Riverland months prior to the virus.
“What everyone’s been blinded by is that these guys have been living in Australia – some of them for nearly two years – so it’s not like they’ve just come into the country,” she said.
“Particularly, our backpackers had been with us in excess of three months – some of them up to six months – when the virus hit.
“It was probably safe for us to say, ‘Okay, these guys are all fine and not sick, and we know what they do every day’, so we implemented the COVID-19 policies and didn’t let any new people into the hostel during that period.
“We’ve started letting some in now, but they’ve self-isolated for 14 days nearby, and we don’t have any problems.”
Ms Allen said she hoped the negative test results reinforced a positive message about foreign backpackers to the wider community.
“We’re happy what we believed all along was the results,” she said.
“It was a great thing from the South Australian Health Commission and SA Pathology to come and do all of the tests.
“What they’re using that information for, I’m not 100 per cent sure, but I certainly hope that it’s gone towards giving some good end results to the people who are still negative in the community about backpackers.”