Man who triggered Australia lockdown is jailed
Tim Gunn tested positive for Covid-19 after breaching quarantine

A man has been sentenced to five months in prison for Covid-19 rule breaches that forced southern Tasmania to lock down for three days.
Timothy Andrew Gunn tested positive for the coronavirus after he flew into the island state illegally and then “absconded from hotel quarantine in Hobart”, The Guardian reported.
The 31-year-old had also lied about where he had been before he arrived via a flight from Melbourne, a court heard this week. Gunn claimed to have been in Queensland for 14 days but had in fact been in his home state of New South Wales (NSW), then classified as a high-risk area.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Travel ban
Gunn had “made two previous applications to enter the state that had been rejected” because he was coming from NSW, said ABC News. Travel from NSW into Tasmania was banned at the time.
He also lied in those applications, saying he was a Tasmania resident, but checks proved his claims to be false, Hobart Magistrates’ Court heard.
After flying into Tasmania in October, Gunn’s “identity and falsehoods were discovered”, and he was ordered to quarantine at the state capital’s Travelodge hotel for two weeks, the news site reported.
But it was clear that “he was unhappy from outset”, said Magistrate Sam Mollard. “He was intending to leave quarantine even as he was taken there.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Gunn fled from the hotel hours later. He was arrested the following day at a house in Hobart’s northern suburbs, where he had spent time with “several other people”, The Guardian reported.
His subsequent positive test for Covid prompted the state government “to enforce restrictions across the south and a mask mandate that lasted about a week”, said the newspaper.
After pleading guilty to escaping hotel quarantine and lying to emergency management workers, Gunn was sentenced to five months, backdated by two months already served in custody, and fined AU$1,500 (£800).
Gunn’s reason for entering Tasmania was also “unlawful”, the court had heard. He was “planning to see a woman who had a family violence order against him”, although magistrate Mollard noted that “she also wanted to see him”, ABC News reported.
Gunn was sentenced to five months, with two months suspended, for breaching family violence orders, taking his total sentence to ten months, with four months suspended.
‘Forgive me’
In an interview with Australia’s 7News following his arrest, Gunn apologised for the “trouble” he caused, but insisted that he had been told he did not have to quarantine on arrival in Tasmania.
“I did not do this on purpose. It definitely wasn’t an act of selfishness or carelessness. I would hope that sometime soon Tasmania could find it in their heart to forgive me,” he said.
Gunn added that he was not “that type of guy that would just go galavanting around, I’ve got total remorse. I rang Public Health and told them everything and I produced a negative test before I left, and they said I did everything right and that I didn’t need to quarantine.”
The broadcaster reported that the “snap lockdown” triggered when Gunn tested positive in Tasmania “sparked a wave of panic buying” in the state. As supermarket shelves were stripped bare, Tasmania’s Premier Peter Gutwein called for police to “throw the book” at Gunn.
Local paper The Mercury also took a pop at Gunn, listing him as one of the state’s “biggest Covidiots”.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 29, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - my way or Norway, running orders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 tactically sound cartoons about the leaked Signal chat
Cartoons Artists take on the clown signal, baby steps, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Aussie beach cabana drama
Row over using tents to reserve a spot on the sand has even drawn in the prime minister
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published