Brett Sutton apologises after becoming embroiled in war of words with Afghani community leaders
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has apologised after his comments regarding a coronavirus outbreak in the Casey area angered the Afghani community.
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Victoria’s chief health officer has publicly apologised after “inadvertently calling out” Melbourne’s Afghani community when referring to the city’s deadly virus cluster in the southeastern suburbs.
Professor Brett Sutton immediately apologised when he fronted reporters on Saturday morning: “First up with an apology. I know members of the community might have felt angered up by statements I made recently.
“That was absolutely not my intention. So, sorry. I have volunteered a couple of times to work in Afghanistan in 1997 and 2003. It is a country I love and respect.”
When questioned about what he said to offend the Afghani community, Prof Sutton said it was comments he made when speaking about Melbourne’s Casey cluster.
Blatant breaches of Melbourne’s 5km-radius rule led to the outbreak of 34 coronavirus infections where members of five households in Hallem, Clyde, Narre Warren South and Cranbourne North had travelled outside the mandated 5km radius.
“I referenced my trips to Afghanistan, and commented on the fact that all communities across the world prioritise and care for those closest to them and everyone wants to do the right thing,” Prof Sutton said.
“It inadvertently called out Afghanistan, which I think was inappropriate, but I was just reflecting on my experience of working with diverse communities internationally in humanitarian work and the fact that there really is a universal human experience.
“We all want to look after our families, we all want to protect the broader community. I think that is the case across Melbourne. We need to enable people to do the right thing and to support them in doing the right thing.”
Tensions boiled over this week during a teleconference call after Prof Sutton pointed the finger at the Afghani community for the outbreak.
It is understood community leaders raised concerns they had not been supported throughout the pandemic.
The Department of Health and Human Services has spent days since trying to restore relationships with the Afghani community.
Officials have provided evidence proving how trains of transmission spread rapidly within the community to explain Prof Sutton’s comments.
Members of the community are understood to have formed a big part of the concerning cluster in Melbourne’s southeast that has grown to 90 active cases, with fears it could blow out further.
Transmission spread rapidly after some members of those homes breached strict lockdown rules to visit each other. The cluster, centred across Dandenong and Casey, includes 34 cases from across just five households.
On Monday Prof Sutton, who has worked in Afghanistan, said working with Casey’s Afghani community was a “priority engagement” for authorities.
“Having been to Afghanistan a couple of times over the years, I want to be able to reflect on my cultural experiences and the fact I know that there are universal motivations that every family has: to do the right thing, to protect their families,” he said.
It sparked an angry response from the Afghani community who accused Prof Sutton of the “scapegoating of an entire community”.
“This further fans the flames of racism, and in cases such as these, turns racial vilification into a normalised political rhetoric as the anti-immigrant far-right groups become louder in the political arena,” said Afghan Australian Community of Victoria spokeswoman Zahida Popal.
“This community profiling and incendiary behaviour causes great emotional distress, alienation and social stigma,” she said.
Authorities fear the surge of cases in the area, and have warned more cases could emerge in coming days.
Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday rejected claims not enough had been done to communicate with ethnic groups throughout the pandemic.
“I would respectfully not concur with the view that there are large groups of people out there who don’t know there’s a pandemic and who don’t know there are rules and who don’t know you’re not allowed to be visiting each other,” he said.
“I just don’t think that’s a fair reflection of the very high level of awareness across the Victorian community.”
Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said the outbreak was “disappointing” but he was confident it had been contained.
“We think that most of the cases are linked between contact between these households. But there has been visits to Fountain Gate and we are not aware of any links of transmissions in that setting, but obviously we want people to come forward for testing if they are unwell,” he said.
But there are concerns that if the outbreak continues to grow it could delay an easing of stage four restrictions.
Before triggering the next step, scheduled for September 28, metropolitan Melbourne must record a 14-day average increase of new COVID-19 cases between 30 and 50.
With the current average at 42.7 there are fears a further spike in cases in the Casey cluster could see that figure surge past 50.
However the Premier has repeatedly said case numbers would be of less significance if community transmission was under control and cases could be traced.
And he said of the Casey cluster: “We’ve got our arms around this.”
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