Premier Peter Gutwein says it is highly likely Tasmania's hotel quarantine system will see positive COVID cases as the state negotiates the possibility of international arrivals with the federal government.
To date, Tasmania has only received one international repatriation flight, from Delhi, which arrived in the state in December last year.
The state had originally agreed to take three repatriation flights, but struck a deal with Victoria in January that saw the state take responsibility for quarantining 1,500 seasonal workers before working on Victorian farms.
In exchange, Victoria took on Tasmania's 330-person commitment to quarantine Australians stranded overseas.
Mr Gutwein said he was engaged in discussions with the federal government about accepting international repatriation flights or refugees that have been evacuated from Afghanistan.
"One of the options that has been proposed is that we might take a repat flight coming from another country to enable quarantine to be opened up in one of the larger centres on the mainland to take additional refugees."
Although no deal has been formally struck between the state and federal government, Mr Gutwein said it was important Tasmanians were aware of the potential arrangement.
"If we take Afghan refugees, if we take a repat flight, the chances of there being COVID on either of those flights would be very high," he said.
"We have the systems in place and obviously we're currently dealing with seasonal workers, but I think at the moment in terms of what we are watching unfold it's important that as Tasmanians, as Australians, that we do our bit."
Mr Gutwein said Tasmania currently had the capacity to take "around 150" Afghan refugees into quarantine for a fortnight.
"What the longer repatriation program is as we bring people back into the country is something that we would obviously engage the federal government on," Mr Gutwein said.
"But immediately the key thing is that they're looking for available space so they can bring back refugees and place them into quarantine."
Hotel quarantine system has taken Delta 'step up': Gutwein
Mr Gutwein said he was confident that the state's hotel quarantine system could manage any positive cases that may arise from the repatriation flights or refugees.
"With Delta we've taken a step up, as has every other jurisdiction around the country to ensure that they can manage what is a far more infectious disease.
"If we were to take a repat flight, whether it be from Afghanistan or from another country that's already been booked, the chances are that there would be COVID on those flights and we would need to ready ourselves to ensure our systems were as robust as possible to protect our community."
Hotel quarantine capacity to increase
Tasmania will also double its hotel quarantine capacity from next week to allow more residents to return home from high-risk areas interstate.
Currently, Tasmania has declared all of New South Wales as a high-risk level one area, meaning anyone arriving in the state must enter hotel quarantine for a fortnight.
Victoria and the ACT are considered as high-risk level two areas by the state, with returning residents able to complete their 14 days of mandatory quarantine at home.
Mr Gutwein said there were "more than 100" Tasmanians wanting to return home from New South Wales, and there was a greater demand on the state's hotel quarantine system as a result.
"At the moment we're looking to double our hotel quarantine capacity to allow more Tasmanians to come back," Mr Gutwein said.
"We have around 150 rooms available at this point in time, we'll be looking to double that to 300 or thereabouts.
"We'll be bringing on 40 to 50 of those rooms in coming days with a further 100 [rooms] we would hope over the course of the coming week."
