Melbourne security guard raised alarm over quarantine bungle

A Melbourne security guard who spotted two confused German tourists recognised as a hero for averting potential COVID crisis.

More than 180 people are in isolation in Melbourne after the quarantine bungle. Picture: Ian Currie

A clueless Sydney cop in his second day on the job has been blamed for the bungle that allowed a pair of German travellers to bypass hotel quarantine and fly to Melbourne.

And the eagle-eyed security guard who spotted them near the SkyBus stop has been recognised as a hero for averting a potential coronavirus crisis.

More than 180 people are in isolation after a woman aged 53 and her 15-year-old son who flew from Frankfurt to Sydney on Saturday were wrongly ­allowed to fly on to Melbourne without quarantining.

NSW police have taken full responsibility for the mistake, saying it was the young officer’s second shift at the airport.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday praised the quick-thinking guard who raised the alarm after finding the pair outside Terminal 3 at Melbourne Airport.

He said the case showed no quarantine system was ­immune from human error and commended the guard for doing “quite an amazing job”.

“When that person became aware that this was not as it should be and something was wrong, they’ve acted promptly,” he said.

“All I can say is on behalf of all Victorians that the ­employee has done an amazing job … and hopefully they are suitable honoured and ­rewarded by their employer.”

An investigation is under way into how the tourists avoided quarantine. Picture: Ian Currie

Health Minister Martin Foley contacted his NSW counterpart on Saturday night to request a full investigation.

But NSW police revealed on Sunday how the mistake happened. The German travellers — who have strong ties to Australia — flew from Frankfurt with a stopover in Tokyo, Japan, and arrived at Sydney Airport at 9.45am on Saturday.

They were health checked — in line with protocol — but while waiting for transport to hotel quarantine they told authorities they had a connecting flight to Melbourne.

The officer wrongly ­believed they were exempt from quarantine in Sydney.

He allowed them to go to the domestic terminal, where they boarded Virgin flight VA 838, arriving in Melbourne at 1.45pm the same day.

After collecting their luggage, the mother and her son went to the carpark before returning to catch a SkyBus, when the guard spotted them.

He asked if they needed help, and they said they were looking for hotel quarantine, prompting the guard to alert police.

Aware the couple could be carrying the virus, he isolated them before they were interviewed and arrangements were made to take them to a quarantine hotel about 4pm.

Authorities then contacted 168 passengers, six flight crew and five airport staff who were deemed close contacts and told them to isolate. Luckily, Victorian authorities believe the risk is low after the pair returned several negative tests.

Results of tests on Sunday will be known on Monday and, if negative, the 179 people they came in contact with will be ­released from isolation. The pair will stay in quarantine and be retested after 11 day.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy said the officer who made the mistake was praised by his superior for ­admitting his error and would not be disciplined.

“The police officer has ­admitted the mistake, that he didn‘t check the appropriate exemption forms and the paperwork appropriately,” Mr Loy said.

But he admitted NSW Police “should cop the criticism” for the “unfortunate incident”. A senior police officer would now be tasked with ­approving hotel quarantine exemption forms.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the passengers were picked up within the existing “rings of containment” and an investigation would uncover exactly what happened.

“We want to make sure that every ring is impregnable and so we have asked the Border Force Commissioner to work with NSW on understanding the circumstances,” he said.

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