‘Double vaxxed and imprisoned’: Fury at families being ‘ripped apart’ despite being vaccinated

A fully vaccinated SA resident says families can’t be “ripped apart” every time the state records a positive case – especially when we’ve chosen to let Covid in.

A fully vaccinated South Australian man who tested positive to Covid-19 and was forced into a medi-hotel says it’s not right families are being “ripped apart” whenever there’s a new Covid case.

Matthew Zubrinich says he is “double vaccinated but imprisoned” after an ambulance with an unmarked police car ushered him to Tom’s Court Medi Hotel on Thursday evening after he returned a positive result to Covid-19.

He’s urging authorities to change their response to how they handle positive cases in the community after calling on everyone to get vaccinated so they can have more freedoms while also choosing to let Covid into SA.

He said it is not realistic to transport every positive case to a medi-hotel.

The 34-year-old returned home from Melbourne on Sunday November 28, and tested negative in his first PCR test at Adelaide Airport.

Upon developing further symptoms, he went to Victoria Park Testing Station on Wednesday, and received a call from SA Health on Thursday afternoon confirming his positive case.

“After I got that phone call from SA Health to say I was positive, within 45 minutes I had an unmarked police car out the front of my house,” Mr Zubrinich said.

The man from Adelaide’s northeast owns a plumbing business and said he was frustrated with how authorities have responded to opening the borders.

Matthew Zubrinich is double vaccinated but tested positive to Covid-19 on Thursday after visiting Melbourne and has been placed into Tom’s Court. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“Honestly its infuriating for me,” he said.

“It’s a prison, it’s just disguised as a hotel room … I’m just stuck in this 10m by 4m cell which is a hotel room even though I haven’t broken any laws and I've been double vaxxed.”

Mr Zubrinich had to leave his wife to look after their two young sons, aged four and one.

“I’m physically fine, probably struggling mentally a bit, but mostly that's because I can’t be there for my wife and kids,” he said.

Two members of his staff are in quarantine for seven days after coming in contact with Mr Zubrinich, which means he has to turn down jobs.

“How many people are going to be in isolation even though they’re double vaxxed? It’s just ridiculous,” he said.

“If you’re going to let Covid in you have to learn to live with it, you can’t just rip families apart every time someone gets Covid.”

Police Commissioner and State Co-ordinator Grant Stevens said this morning all positive cases were being taken to Tom’s Court “at this stage”.

“At this point, SA Health are strongly of the view that people who test positive for Covid need to be escorted to the Tom’s Court Hotel so that we know that we are really on top of this,” he said.

“I understand the stress it must be causing him (Mr Zubrinich) and his family, but once again, we have to try and step above that and look at the bigger picture and make decisions that we think are in the best interests of the broader community.

“We will reach a point when we have greater confidence that it is being safely managed and it’s not suppressing the health system that people will be quarantining at home, and that will also be as a result of just the significant weight of numbers of people who will probably tests positive to Covid in the coming weeks and months.”

In a statement on Monday afternoon, SA Health said people arriving from overseas may be put into a medi-hotel – even if home quarantine has been approved.

A spokeswoman said because of worries about the Omicron variant, “all international travellers arriving in SA, including travellers transiting through another Australian state, must now undertake 14 days’ quarantine.

“Travellers arriving in SA from overseas, may be taken to a medi-hotel upon arrival even if they have approval for home quarantine.

“This will allow for an assessment of country of origin, suitability of housing and for a COVID-19 swab to be undertaken to confirm a negative result”.