Hotel quarantine resumes in Victoria with first international flights touching down on Thursday

Victoria’s much-maligned hotel quarantine program has resumed, with international flights touching down in the state for the first time in almost two months.

Some 106 returned travellers will arrive at Melbourne airport from 4.30am on Thursday aboard flights from Colombo, Doha, Dubai and Singapore.

They will be taken to the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport and the Intercontinental on Collins Street, where they will stay for a fortnight.

The state hasn’t accepted returned travellers since February 13, when workers contracted the UK strain of COVID-19 from guests at the Holiday Inn.

The outbreak, which grew to 24 cases,…