Coronavirus outbreak Gold Coast: Oracle guests and residents stunned to hear about positive diagnosis

People holidaying at the Oracle in Broadbeach have expressed anger at a lack of information after finding out that a man staying there tested positive for coronavirus.

GUESTS holidaying in apartments on the Gold Coast only found out a man staying in the twin towers had Queensland’s first case of novel coronavirus through social media.

Other tourists staying in the Oracle skyscrapers at Broadbeach first discovered a 44-year-old man was raced to Gold Coast University Hospital by paramedics on Tuesday afternoon when the Bulletin approached them for comment today.

The patient, a Chinese national from Wuhan in Hubei province, had been staying in a private apartment and not the luxury Peppers Broadbeach hotel.

Gold Coast Health officials were seen entering the Oracle towers earlier today and pedestrians have been seen wearing masks.

However, it otherwise appeared to be business as usual at the Oracle and on nearby streets.

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Paramedics outside the Oracle Building on Tuesday. Picture: Mega Agency.

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Guests were checking in and there was a trickle of people walking in and out of the doors.

Leaving Oracle with his young son, a tourist from Canberra said he was concerned about the Coast coronavirus case and a lack of transparency.

“My partner noticed on social media and went down here (to reception) and the girl was very blasé about it. She didn’t seem too concerned about it and she wasn’t even sure about it, she had to check with a manager,” he said.

“Then she got back and said it was affecting the lifts and she would keep us updated. She never did.

“It’s a bit concerning, especially when you’ve got some young ones with you. They should have been a bit more transparent and concerned with the wellbeing and safety of guests.”

He suggested the hotel should have put up signage.

Two women from Victoria staying at the Oracle were taken aback when the Bulletin asked them about the Coast coronavirus case.

“That’s not very comforting,” one woman said.

Another simply exclaimed: “Oh my God.”

“We’ve only been here a couple of days, but it’s weird to not know,” she said.

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A group of tourists leaving Oracle said they had only just checked in and had not been made aware, while a man wheeling a young child in a stroller said he was “not too worried”.

“Nope, we’re on holiday mate,” he said.

Accor, which runs Peppers, previously stated full precautions were being taken in accordance with guidelines from health department officials.

“The safety and wellbeing of our guests and colleagues is our highest priority and we are following the advice of the Australian Government’s Department of Health to further limit any risk,” it read.

“Cleanliness and hygiene are always a high priority for us. On being alerted to a potential risk in the Oracle building we acted immediately and carried out additional sanitisation protocols, which included more frequent deep cleaning and disinfecting of the areas that form part of the hotel.”