Hotel quarantine inquiry: Crown’s threat as found PPE waste left behind concierge desk
New details have emerged of how Crown threatened to bill the Department of Health and Human Services after clinical PPE waste from the COVID-19 quarantine program was discovered.
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Crown threatened to bill the Department of Health and Human Services after clinical waste from the COVID-19 quarantine program were placed behind a concierge desk.
The incident in early April is detailed in new statements which have just been made public by the inquiry.
A statement from Crown’s executive general manager Shaun D’Cruz revealed Crown’s first aid manager had discovered DHHS clinical waste bags were not being removed, and several were placed behind a concierge desk.
Crown contacted the Department of Jobs, Regions and Precincts and offered to remove the clinical waste, for a fee.
A day later, Crown informed DJPR the waste still had not been removed and indicated it would “remove the clinical waste and invoice DHHS.’’
Crown then removed the waste.
Another day passed before the DHHS instructed Crown to “continue removing clinical waste for the time being.’’
The giant Crown Promenade and Crown Metropol hotels housed the largest number of returning guests – more than 5600 – over the life of the quarantine program, and was paid at least $15 million.
Mr D’Cruz said it was believed no Crown staff had contracted COVID-19.
In other incidents identified, Crown was told by the Department of Justice that the DHHS had alleged that Corrections Victoria had caused “an infection control risk at Crown Metropol by breaching protocols around the correct disposal of PPE.’’
Crown provided information to the Department of Justice about the “content of video footage’’ relating to inappropriate disposal of PPE.
DEEP HOTEL CLEANS NOT CARRIED OUT
Deep cleans of common areas in hotels with COVID-positive guests were not carried out until after the outbreak at Rydges on Swanston in May.
The inquiry into the botched hotel quarantine program has heard that while rooms which had housed COVID-positive guests were deep-cleaned once the guests were moved, common areas and high-touch points were not.
It wasn’t until after security staff contracted COVID-19 from a family of four who were quarantined at Rydges in late May that the decision was made to do broader deep cleans, known as a commercial cleans.
The inquiry has previously heard the family were taken out of their room after young, distressed children spread human waste inside, and there had been an environmental contamination which required nursing staff to resolve.
More than 90 per cent of Victoria’s second wave cases were later traced back to the COVID-positive family, after six security guards contracted the virus at Rydges.
Rachaele May, the executive director of emergency co-ordination and resilience at the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, told the inquiry new requirements were introduced by the Department of Health and Human Services in late May.
“These cleans had not been undertaken by commercial cleaning contractors previously,’’ she said, referring to common areas and regular touch-points.
She said cleaning protocols provided by the DHHS for commercial cleaning had also changed over time.
On June 16, a second cleaning protocol was released and sent to the three commercial cleaning contractors – Ikon, AHM and AMC - the next day.
“Among other things, the Second Cleaning Protocol increased the time required to undertake cleaning processes, and set similar standards for the cleaning of rooms which were not COVID-positive (which had not previously been the case),’’ Ms May told the inquiry in her statement.
“The Second Cleaning Protocol also required that all cleaning staff wear full-length disposable gowns, surgical masks, eye protection and gloves, regardless of whether the area being cleaned had been occupied by a COVID-positive person.’’
Ms May said she raised with DHHS commanders the fact that the revised cleaning procedure would add one to two weeks to the time taken to clean each hotel.
“Operationally, this would have had a large impact on the ability of existing hotels to receive flights, and would possibly have required additional hotels to be stood up in the Program,’’ she said.
She said DHHS then worked on the program to “alleviate its operation impact.’’
A commercial clean was then begun at the Stamford Plaza, where 17 security guards also contracted COVID-19, from three guests staying in two rooms at the hotel.
Ms May said she received a call and email from the DHHS advising that the commercial cleaning staff at the hotel were “not undertaking all the tasks expected.’’
“This was a time critical task as it was part of outbreak management to allow fresh staff to work in the hotel in areas freshly cleaned,’’ she said.
She said a DJPR support officer spoke to the cleaning company, “which confirmed there must have been some confusion onsite regarding instructions, as the company was clear about the DHHS directions DJPR had passed on to them.
“It is my understanding that the company then returned the following morning to ensure the clean was completed to the standard directed by DHHS.’’
TOP COP BACKED GUARDS FOR HOTEL QUARANTINE
Former chief commissioner of police Graham Ashton recommended the use of private security firms at Victoria’s botched hotel quarantine program.
An inquiry has heard that Victoria Police had a maximum 32 officers on any “given day’’ rostered to work on the program, in which more than 20,000 people were detained in hotels for 14 days in Melbourne after returning from overseas.
Commander Tim Tully told the inquiry he was not aware of any formal request being made to Victoria Police to provide a 24/7 presence at the hotels.
“I suppose my view would be that having a 24/7 … police presence at those locations ultimately means … a number of resources that come from the frontline policing responsibilities of Victoria Police,’’ he told board chair Jennifer Coate.
“My view at the time was certainly that it was not required; it would have been an inefficient use of resources.’’
Commander Tully said he had received an email from a superintendent at 10.19pm on Friday, March 27 about the hotel quarantine program announced earlier that day.
“That email informed me of the following matters, among others … CCP recommendation that private security is to be the first line of security.’’
He confirmed he meant chief commissioner of police. Mr Ashton was CCP at the time, but retired in June and was replaced by Shane Patton.
Commander Tully said there had been no discussion at a State Control Centre meeting he then attended about the decision to use private security guards.
“That had already been, I suppose, confirmed that private security would be utilised at those locations,’’ he said.
Commander Tully also revealed for the first time that the program ran from March 29-July 14. He said there were 131 incidents requiring police attendance over that period, including five of which were serious, or “priority one”.
The inquiry has not yet uncovered who made the ultimate decision to use private security guards instead of police and Australian Defence Force troops, as NSW and Queensland did.
Commander Tully told the inquiry he was not aware Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp had requested a 24/7 police presence at two COVID hotels in Melbourne on July 17 – after the quarantine program for overseas travellers had ended.
He said he was aware police were in attendance at two hotels in Melbourne providing quarantine for people from the “Housing Commission flats in North Melbourne’’ and from a backpacker facility at St Kilda.
The inquiry heard from senior DJPR official Rachaele May, who said people were initially allowed to leave hotels after 14 days, even if they had tested positive or were waiting for test results, provided they wore PPE and went straight home.
“I understand that that advice changed towards the end of the program, whereby guests were unable to be released if they were still positive or still awaiting test results,’’ she said.
The inquiry, before former judge Jennifer Coate, continues on Tuesday, when DHHS officials will appear.
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Originally published as Hotel quarantine inquiry: Crown’s threat as found PPE waste left behind concierge desk