Hundreds of backpackers feared to have coronavirus after ignoring warning not to attend huge Bondi Beach party
HUNDREDS are feared to have contracted coronavirus as 10 backpackers tested positive for the virus after attending a party on Bondi Beach.
Florencia Barreiro revealed herself and nine pals have all contracted the infection which has placed the world on lockdown.
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The 24-year-old said up to 200 people were at the party two weeks ago, which was held before all outdoor gatherings were banned in Australia over coronavirus.
She revealed not long after the party she began to suffer symptoms, including body aches and a congested nose.
Ms Barreiro, from Argentina, was then tested positive at the Prince Wales Hospital in Randwick.
She lives with 12 other backpackers and was rushed away by government officials to be isolated in a hotel.
Desperately, she is now urging everyone to self isolate as she fears tourists, backpackers and locals are not taking the pandemic seriously.
Ms Barreiro told 10Daily: "We were not worried. We were unconscious of it, as people still are now I guess.
"We saw it as something distant from us. Nobody was mentioning it anywhere.
"I started to realise the situation three days after the party."
Pictures show the crowded beach last weekend, with sunseekers flouting guidelines about social distancing to enjoy themselves on the sands of the world-famous beach.
Large gatherings in Australia prompted the government to roll out stricter rules that led to many beaches being shut down.
Ms Barreiro said: "I started feeling really weak [and had] body pain and headaches. But I never got a temperature nor sore throat."
She is now holed up for two weeks in a hotel, and said that at least nine other friends - also backpackers from Argentina and Chile - are also infected with coronavirus.
Many of her friends fear how they will be able to pay the bills during quarantine, as they are ineligible for welfare payments and do not qualify for paid leave.
Ms Barreiro accused the Australian government of having inconsistent measures on tacking Covid-19.
Australia so far has 2,136 infections, and has seen eight deaths - with 427 being confirmed in the past 24 hours.
Ms Barreiro said: "Here [in Australia] there is so much inconsistency.
"The bars continued to be open and full of people.
"On Friday, we passed by Bondi Beach on the way to work and saw hundreds of people."
She warned that if people do not self isolate, Australia risks suffering the same fate as Italy - which has recorded 6,820 deaths and 69,176 infections.
She said: "It's not just to take care of yourself but others as well. Please stay home."
New South Wales Health confirmed a number of cases are being linked to two parties, one at the Boogie Wonderland party at the Bucket List on March 15 and a party at Club 77 on the same date.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned thousands of people who flouted the social distancing measures and also flocked to Bondi Beach over the weekend.
Speaking on Sunday, he said: "What happened at Bondi Beach was not okay and served as a message to federal and state leaders that too many Australians are not taking these issues seriously enough."
Australia has now rolled out tough new measures to help tackle the virus, which has killed almost 20,000 people worldwide and infected nearly more than 440,000.
Mr Morrison today said most overseas travel will be banned, and many public spaces will be shut.
A maximum of ten people will be allowed to attend funerals, and five people will be able to attend weddings, the government said.
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Pubs and places of worships have also been closed, along with play centres, libraries and museums.
Mr Morrison said: "Stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary that you go out."
Meanwhile, a finger-prick test for coronavirus is hoped to be rolled out in the UK within days - available from Boots and Amazon.
And elsewhere, it was confirmed Prince Charles has tested positive for Covid-19 as the infection continues to spread in lockdown Britain.
