The 50 state government fails throughout the coronavirus pandemic

From using private security firms as frontline hotel quarantine staff to gaps in our contact tracing capacity and flaws in the “ring of steel” around Melbourne, here are 50 fails in Victoria’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are the 50 fails in Victoria’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

As Victorians desperately wait for restrictions to be eased, The Saturday Herald Sun today lists the litany of mistakes made by the Andrews government in managing the coronavirus crisis that has led to 816 deaths and a $14 billion hit to our economy.

From monumental problems in hotel quarantine and contact tracing to massive breakdowns in communication between Ministers and various Government departments, they have all held the state back from moving into a new phase of Covid-normal.

These problems must not be repeated if we are to honour the memory of the people who have lost their lives so far.

A resident at a window of the locked down public housing towers in North Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire

– Used private security firms as frontline hotel quarantine staff

– Returned travellers in some instances were allowed to walk freely in and out of quarantine zones

– Lack of accountability for decision-making on hotel quarantine program

– Failed to call in ADF troops on offer from the federal government

– Retracted a request for 850 ADF troops after it was made by Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp

– Failed to identify spread of virus from quarantine hotels early on

– Failed to boost contact tracing staff numbers early in the pandemic and ignoring warnings about gaps in contact tracing capacity

The virus running rife through our aged care homes was a failure. Picture: NewsWire

– Relied on centralised model for contact tracing instead of localised units

– Authorities were unable to contain virus once it escaped hotel quarantine

– Decided not to follow the state’s existing emergency plan for a pandemic

– Decided against making chief health officer the state controller in charge of the response

– No clear chain of command for staff across departments leading pandemic response

– Refused to name specific sources of infection during early outbreaks

– Consistently provided less information on daily cases and virus trends when compared to other states

– Acted slowly on abattoirs with outbreaks such as at Cedar Meats

– Long delays in contacting businesses and secondary contacts of positives cases

No fines were issued for those who attended the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne. Picture: Alex Coppel

– Delay in recommending masks on public transport and other high-risk locations despite strong support from experts

– Claimed just 10 to 15 per cent of healthcare workers infected with the virus caught it at work, later released data showing it was 69 per cent during the second wave

– Cuts made to the state’s public health team before the pandemic made them the nation’s least resourced heading into the pandemic

– Difficulties with boosting of testing capacity in Shepparton sparked six-hour waits

– Imposed an arbitrary, and potentially illegal, curfew without the advice of the CHO

– Did not fine attendees of the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne’s CBD where 10,000 protesters broke health rules

– Did not act fast enough to make critical health information available in multiple languages

– Alienated certain leaders of some cultural and linguistically diverse communities

– Slow to act on issues with contact tracing in Colac, with locals setting up their own response to outbreaks

PPE not being made available to healthcare workers was identified as a major flaw in our pandemic response. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

– Rollout of police enforcement at public housing tower lockdown further alarmed residents who had serious concerns about supplies and their own safety

– Provided flyers with outdated information at some testing sites

– Periodic confusion over testing, with people who had attended high-risk locations knocked back if they did not have symptoms

– Inconsistent messaging on who should isolate and when

– Flaws in the “ring of steel” around Melbourne meant lines of drivers waved through at check points without verification

– Delay in implementing day 11 testing policy for households in quarantine

– Inadequate consultation with business groups on recovery road map

– Delays in issuing government grants to businesses

– Provided belated support for sole traders not able to claim federal government’s JobKeeper and restricted support to only 33,000 traders

World-leading scientists said Victoria’s virus suppression targets were unduly onerous Picture: NCA NewsWire

– Disbanded parts of the contact tracing team after the first wave and was forced to rebuild systems in the middle of the second wave after discovering major issues.

– Bypassed the traditional cabinet process by creating a smaller Crisis Cabinet – a decision that has been criticised by former Health Minister Jenny Mikakos in wake of hotel quarantine failures

– Ministers not receiving regular briefings and updates from departmental staff on hotel quarantine program

– Introducing targeted localised contract tracing and testing response teams too late

– Relied on positive cases reporting reliable information to contract tracers without accessing backup information including phone data, GPS data and bank records

– Hospitals were forced to conduct their own contact tracing for staff after identifying delays and problems with department efforts

– Set virus suppression targets that world-leading scientists said were unduly onerous

– Was forced to walk back elements of its recovery road map and the timing of restrictions which created uncertainty for businesses

– Failed to initially listen to healthcare workers calling for better rollout of PPE and more supplies

Failures in Melbourne’s hotel quarantine have been a major point of contention in our coronavirus handling. Picture: Wayne Taylor

– Over reliance on outdated technology, including fax machines, in sharing test results and tracing

– Delays in providing vital supplies to locked down residents in public housing towers

– Health officials refused to provide PPE to aged-care facility staff waiting on federal stockpiles because of fears it was being stolen, according to documents from the hotel quarantine inquiry

– Public servants regularly flagged issues with hotel quarantine security and who was in charge but failed to act decisively until outbreaks had already occurred

– Failed to insist all people in hotel quarantine undergo tests before being released into community, falsely claiming it didn’t have power to compel tests

– More than 25 per cent of people supposed to be isolating at home because of positive infection or being a close contact in July – 800 of 3000 people doorknocked – found not to be at home – most believed to be taking advantage of the loophole one-hour exercise

– DHHS wrongly claim the hour of exercise for infected people must be retained otherwise it would breach the human rights charter – before loophole is finally closed, fines increased and ADF deployed to assist in routine doorknocks

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