Bombshell report nebuliser was not true cause behind Melbourne lockdown

A man blamed for a COVID lockdown after using a nebuliser in a hotel is yet to recieve an apology from politicans, despite a bombshell report.

COVID-19 Victoria’s head of infection control Matiu Bush has been stood down after concerns were raised about two incidents in which he refused coronavirus tests.

The breaches were uncovered in explosive secret documents obtained by The Australian, which revealed Mr Bush defied a Defence Force request for a mandatory COVID-19 test and breaching infection-control protocols.

He had refused to be tested while visiting quarantine sites, despite being required to do so, and told staff he would not do so.

COVID-19 Victoria’s head of infection control Matiu Bush.

Emergency Services Minister Danny Pearson, who is responsible for the program, said Mr Bush’s conduct was concerning.

Mr Pearson said the incidents did not have serious risks of infection but the concerns with the worker related to his “attitude and behaviour”.

— Read full story and view the documents here.

“I don’t think the public would want to see someone in a senior leadership role continue to behave in this way,” he said.

The minister said he had made the decision this behaviour was a bad look.

“I reached a conclusion when I saw the reports that that is not what I expect from a senior leader,” Mr Pearson said.

“We want to make sure we set the right standards from the top.

‘It is a very clear message I want to send that it is my expectation of the senior management team and everyone in hotel quarantine, you’ve got to take it seriously.

“We’ve all got a collective responsibility to do the right thing.”

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said he still had confidence in the Victorian hotel quarantine program and was pleased Mr Bush had been stood down.

“I understand the individual in question has been stood down and so my observation is that Victoria has taken swift action,” Mr Hunt said.

“Where we have had disagreements over the last year, we’ve always tried to do that publicly and politely.

“We have confidence in the quarantine system right around the country.

“All state and territories are doing a good job.”

The outbreak triggered a five-day snap lockdown in February. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw

On Tuesday, COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria Commissioner Emma Cassar clarified the two incidents involving Mr Bush and said in the first case, the bureaucrat was permitted to get tested at another site later in the day because their role required them to move across multiple hotels.

“The daily testing requirement has been met,” she said. “However it is disappointing that there were some comments made at the site.

“We expect the highest standards of professionalism from our staff and this has fallen well short of that.”

Ms Cassar said the second incident happened when Mr Bush left a quarantine hotel for a coffee and returned without changing masks.

“The hotel was not an active hotel so from an infection prevention and control perspective the risk was minimal,” she said.

“But what is falling short there again is the fact that our procedures say on arrival you change your mask and sanitise and that didn’t happen.”

An outbreak traced back to the Holiday Inn near Melbourne Airport triggered a third lockdown. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

But opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said standing down Mr Bush was not enough.

“He needs to go. You cannot have someone without any infection control experience running such an important program in hotel quarantine,” she said.

“We need somebody with health advice for heaven’s sake. We need people who understand infection control. Quarantine is around infection control measures to keep the virus out of our community.

“It’s pretty basic. I just think it’s an utter disgrace and I think every Victorian will be absolutely furious.”

Ms Crozier said the government had blamed “some poor man” for the outbreak.

She said if the Premier or police minister were not on sick leave, she’d be “calling for their heads”.

“I think it is an absolute disgrace what’s gone on … how he has been blamed for the outbreak in Holiday Inn, when in actual fact, this cover-up showed there was swabbing and other issues in the hotel quarantine program that were actually the cause of the outbreak,” she said.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who is on sick leave. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Crosling

WHAT REALLY CAUSED THIRD LOCKDOWN

Victoria’s acting premier and the state’s quarantine chief have refused to back down from blaming a man who used a breathing machine in a hotel for sparking a statewide lockdown, despite a secret report showing he was not the cluster’s patient zero.

In February, the Andrews government and chief health officer Brett Sutton said the use of a nebuliser — which turns liquid medicine into a mist to help people breathe — was the cause of an outbreak of COVID-19 at a Holiday Inn.

The man who used the nebuliser, who has never been identified, said he was given permission by authorities to use the device.

Now, a report leaked to The Australian suggests a different patient might have been responsible for spreading COVID-19 through the hotel in the first place, and infecting the nebuliser user.

A worker at the hotel after the outbreak was revealed. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Crosling

The unidentified man told 3AW he was happy the report was uncovered.

“I am very glad this has come out, though it continues to show there’s systemic problems that need to be resolved,” he said.

The report, which was leaked to The Australian, says a woman down the corridor from other patients later identified as having coronavirus was swabbed for an “extended time” and the virus likely wafted down and pooled outside the room of the man with the nebuliser.

It then may have been picked up by the nebuliser user or his partner when they collected food.

The state opposition has called for the government to apologise for having “laid the blame on this poor father”.

But acting Premier James Merlino said “the nebuliser was a significant contributor to that outbreak” in February.

And COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria Commissioner Emma Cassar also said the nebuliser was the prevailing theory of how the virus actually escaped the hotel.

ONGOING CHALLENGES REVEALED

The incident reports are from Melbourne hotels including the Pan Pacific, Four Points, Intercontinental, Mantra, Novotel, Holiday Inn, Pullman, Park Royal and Stamford Plaza.

They reveal that one of the most serious ongoing challenges for the hotel quarantine program is the number of unvaccinated contractors and tradies who are allowed onsite for maintenance and other work.

Despite the Andrews government signalling that all staff with direct or indirect contact with returned travellers must be vaccinated, the logs show that hotel managers are allowing unvaccinated workers onsite in what are described as “breach of mandatory vaccination” rules.

Government minister Jacinta Allan on Wednesday morning said she had not seen the contents of the COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria Infection Prevention and Control report, or the article by The Australian.

She said the Minister responsible for COVID Quarantine Victoria, Danny Pearson, would address “these matters” later on Wednesday morning.

Victoria’s hotel quarantine scheme has been plagued by outbreaks. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Crosling

“What I can say is our hotel quarantine system has undergone a massive reset over recent months following the Board of Inquiry Report and the reset of the program,” Ms Allan said.

“There’s also an extensive amount of work that was undertaken, following the incidents in February to look at the ventilation systems of the hotels that were in operation.”

But Ms Allan shifted focus to instead ramp up calls for an alternative quarantine location in a Victoria.

“We are seeing the same sorts of issues hotel quarantine have right around the country,” she added.

“That’s why all state governments are engaging in these conversations with each other about how we can continue to live with the reality of COVID, the realities of infectious disease, and that we need to have appropriate quarantine arrangements in place.”

Read full story and view the documents here.