Rolling coverage: Quarantine boss rejects nebuliser claim
CQV Commissioner Emma Cassar has rejected claims that a hotel guest blamed for spreading COVID through a nebuliser had been given permission to use the device by health authorities.
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COVID Quarantine Victoria Commissioner Emma Cassar has rejected claims that a hotel guest blamed for spreading the virus through a nebuliser told authorities of the medical device.
“I can categorically say from our audits that he had not raised this with our health or operational team,” Ms Cassar said.
“These devices are in their bags, we don’t check bags and we don’t have any legal right to.”
It was reported the man claimed he was twice given permission by health authorities to use the nebuliser while in hotel quarantine.
Ms Cassar said she “can’t explain the difference of information”.
“That’s not our recollection (that he was given permission) and that’s not what we’ve heard or the information we’ve had from our health providers. There is no evidence for that.”
“This is nobody’s fault … this is an incident that no one knew about until after it occurred.
“Had we known about it we would have done something earlier. The first time we knew about this was from a notification from the Alfred.”
“There is no record of a nebuliser in the system”
When asked if she felt she had been made a scapegoat for the situation, Ms Cassar said: “I don’t feel like I’m being thrown under the bus”.
COVID SCARE AT MONASH UNIVERSITY
Staff at Monash University have today been told of a possible COVID-19 positive case in the student residential halls.
A staff member who wished not to be named has revealed to The Herald Sun select staff were told one student living in Howitt Hall at the Clayton campus may have tested positive.
NEVILLE RACED TO HOSPITAL
Police Minister Lisa Neville was rushed to hospital last night due to a serious medical issue and will step aside from hotel quarantine responsibilities for at least a week.
The veteran MP, who in a statement says she has been dealing with the undisclosed medical issue for some time, will hand over responsibilities to Health Minister Martin Foley until at least February 22.
“Late last night I was admitted to hospital as a result of complications associated with a previously diagnosed medical condition,” the statement says.
“I have been living with and managing this condition for some time but the complications that have now arisen are serious and require a period of time in hospital for treatment and subsequent respite and recovery.
“This condition is not COVID-19 related.”
Ms Neville’s water portfolio responsibilities will be dealt with by Planning Minister Richard Wynne.
The minister did a series of media commitments earlier in the week while battling illness, and was preparing for another parliamentary session starting on Tuesday.
However, the emergency treatment on Thursday night has forced her to stand down until well enough.
“At this time my intent is to return to work on Monday 22 February, subject to treatment and medical advice,” the statement says.
- Matt Johnston
‘FIVE DAYS IS ENOUGH’: SUTTON DENIES LONG LOCKDOWN RUMOURS
One new locally acquired coronavirus case has been recorded in Victoria overnight.
The case is linked to the Holiday Inn outbreak, which now numbers at 14 cases.
The case is a male in his 30s who lives in the Point Cook area, who is a friend of a Holiday Inn worker.
All 38 of the person’s close contacts have been notified and isolated, with testing underway.
Testing commander Jeroen Weimar said authorities were investigating a potential exposure site at the RAAF base at Point Cook, and a site in Albert Park.
There are now 20 active cases in Victoria.
There are 996 close contacts of Holiday Inn cases isolating.
BRUNETTI WORKERS, CUSTOMERS CONTACTED
Premier Daniel Andrews said 11 of the 12 staff who worked at Brunetti cafe at Melbourne Airport’s terminal 4 alongside an infectious worker have returned negative tests.
“That is very significant given they were at the highest risk of exposure, given their proximity to the infected co-worker,” he said.
“It doesn’t mean that all the challenges in association with that business, their customers and the Terminal 4 issues are over. Far from it.”
Authorities are awaiting one more test result.
Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said they expect to receive the results later today.
Thirty-eight customers who visited the cafe during the exposure time have been contacted by health authorities.
Health authorities also contacted 2300 travellers who travelled through terminal 4 during the exposure period on February 9.
About 100 passengers will land in Melbourne before the door shuts on incoming international flights on Saturday.
Daniel Andrews said the passengers are on five flights which were already on route to Melbourne.
20,116 tests results were received overnight, with a further 8500 tests returned on Saturday morning.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews urged Victorians spending their first day back in lockdown to come forward for testing.
“Any symptoms whatsoever, get tested and do it as fast as you can – we will get your results in 24 hours and you will have played an important part in keeping us safe and ensuring this is a short circuit breaker event.”
LOCKDOWN CAN LEGALLY EXTEND FOR TWO WEEKS
The chief health officer shot down speculation the lockdown would extend beyond five days as the official legal directions are valid for two weeks.
“Nothing should be read into it as having an intention to extend beyond a day beyond when we think they need to be in place. For now, that is five days, absolutely,” Professor Brett Sutton said.
“You would have to ask legal about why they are drafting [documents] in a particular way they do but clearly they have done it all the way through from the beginning of last year with respect to writing directions.
“I think five days is realistic. Clearly we need to make an assessment each and every day.
“It does depend on whether new cases emerge or any other surprises that might occur. But I am confident that five days is enough.”
The documents, from Prof Brett Sutton, were released overnight and read: “For the purposes of these directions, the stay safe period is the period beginning at 11:59:00 pm on 12 February 2021 and ending at 11:59:00 pm on 26 February 2021.”
It’s understood the wording is just a default and does not mean the lockdown will extend beyond the five-day period announced by Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday.
The Department of Health and Human Services has been contacted for comment.
EXPOSURE SITES ADDED TO LIST
An Albert Park cafe and Point Cook eatery have been added to the list of exposure sites after being visited by a positive virus case.
Anyone who visited the Alberton Cafe in Albert Park on February 9 between 8.50am and 10.10am, and February 11 between 9.00am and 10.15am must get tested and isolate for 14 days.
Anyone who visited the Coffeeologist Café in Point Cook on February 8 between 11.400am and 11.40am, and February 10 between 11.30am and 12.10pm must also get tested and isolate for 14 days.
Health authorities have removed a Melbourne building from their exposure list less than 24 hours after it was added, saying they no longer believe it to be a risk.
The Health Department instructed anyone who visited Stowe Australia in South Melbourne between 10.30 and 10.45am on February 8 to get tested and isolate for two weeks shortly after 11pm yesterday.
But the department’s list of exposure sites was quietly updated this morning and the location removed just before 10am.
ANDREWS REFUSES TO COMMENT ON CLUSTER CLAIMS
The Premier was reluctant to comment on claims made by the man at the centre of the Holiday Inn outbreak that staff permitted him to use his nebuliser.
The medical device has now been linked to the virus’ escape from hotel quarantine after it was used by a returned traveller who was unaware he had COVID-19 at the time.
Daniel Andrews was repeatedly questioned on the dispute between authorities and the patient in their care, but insisted journalists speak to Emma Cassar, the head of COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria.
“Ultimately, it is my understanding, the advice I have is that machines have been taken from people, that is the normal process,” he said.
“If somebody speaks to the fact they have one of these machines, they don’t use these machines. I can only give you the advice I’ve been given.
“You need to speak to the head of the agency.”
ANDREWS DEFENDS REGIONAL SHUTDOWN
The Premier defended locking down regional Victoria saying Melburnians would have headed to the country had there been different rules.
The Premier told today’s press conference there was no time to set up a ring of steel to stop people fleeing to the regions.
“People will go where the rules are the easier, and they might take the virus with them,” he said.
“That might see things settle in Melbourne once they’ve levelled off and then a week later or a couple of weeks later we start to see sewerage tests in regional Victoria that make no sense.”
Regional Victorians are angry and frustrated they have been caught up in another lockdown when there are no cases outside metro Melbourne.
Brett Hollis runs Blue Dirt Mountain Biking in Bellbrae, and was preparing for a busy weekend before the shock lockdown began.
He said there needed to be better planning and rules around outbreaks in Metro Melbourne, so regional Victorians all weren’t caught up.
“It’s frustrating. The financial impact from this weekend alone is significant at the height of summer, we would have had three locations with 90 per cent bookings.”
Fifteen staff were impacted.
“There doesn’t seem to be clear guidelines in relation to lockdown. There’s 13 cases and the whole state is locked down – as a business leading into a busy weekend, you are left holding the can. Who pays for the loss of a snap decision when there is no set parameters?”
Mr Hollis said if you could see cases were increasing and were nearing an agreed threshold, for example 20 cases, businesses could then at least plan ahead.
“You could say this is tracking this way and this could happen, but there is nothing … you would like to be able to trust them.”
There was also concern with the number of people leaving Melbourne to head into country areas.
“If you are going to lock down the state, you are going to lock it down, don’t have people potentially taking the virus with them.”
Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday conceded regional areas would be disappointed being included in the lockdown, but said the government wanted to ensure the virus stayed out.
He said there was no time to set up the ring of steel that enveloped Melbourne during the second wave.
– Andrew Koubaridis
VICTORIANS RE-ENTER LOCKDOWN
It comes as Victorians spend Saturday hunkered down in their homes, with families steeling themselves to care for bored, housebound kids for at least five days.
And crippled businesses are despairing about their futures, as restaurants fully booked for Valentine’s Day scramble to cancel food orders and contact staff and customers to cancel shifts and bookings.
A rush on supermarkets and alcohol sales saw stores swamped Friday night and there were reports of Melburnians with holiday homes fleeing to their coastal or country pads ahead of the midnight lockdown.
MELBOURNE DECLARED A HOTSPOT
Greater Melbourne was declared a COVID-19 hotspot by Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly this morning, with authorities flagging a “substantial risk” of “national spread”.
The declaration listed the recent finding that two cases worked at Tullamarine Airport whilst infectious as “of particular concern … given the airport is a hub for travel to all jurisdictions within Australia”.
The declaration, which will last for three days before being reviewed, did not include regional Victoria, which is in lockdown alongside Melbourne.
As a hotspot, Victoria is eligible for Commonwealth support including PPE supplies from the national stockpile and contact tracing assistance.
REGIONAL BUSINESSES LOCKED DOWN
It came as some regional and country businesses questioned why they had been swept up in the hard lockdown, which would effectively turn Victoria into a ghost state.
Co-owner of the Hydrant Food Hall in Ballarat, Sam Rowe, said his business was set to lose at least $10,000 this weekend because of the snap announcement.
“It was shaping up to be a very busy week for us … we didn’t see it coming, I was like are you serious?” he said.
“It’s shocking, especially for regionals … I would have thought they’d bring back the ring of steel as a temporary measure.”
Many Melbourne restaurants said they would lose tens of thousands of dollars in redundant stock and bookings as they missed out on their busiest day of the year, while retailers said the lack of last-minute Valentine’s Day shopping sprees was another killer blow.
Some restaurant owners described the situation as “soul-destroying”, while others said they were fed up and felt like they were going back to square one, after finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel following a disastrous year.
Melbourne’s hospitality industry, which was just starting to get back on its feet, would be gutted by the snap COVID lockdown, Restaurant and Catering Australia chief Wes Lambert predicted.
“Valentine’s Day is traditionally one of the busiest days for hospitality, but also in this unique year it is falling on a weekend … which was a lifeline for the industry,” he said, adding that lifeline was now “busted”.
“It will also affect countless numbers of weddings and private events,” Mr Lambert said.
Australian Retailers Association chief Paul Zahra said Victorian store owners, who had been forced to once again close their doors, were at their wit’s end.
“This is a devastating blow for Victorian retailers. They’ve been through so much in the past year and have done their best to return to an even footing in recent months. Unfortunately, some of the horrors of 2020 continue,” he said.
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Paul Guerra said it was “Groundhog Day for Victorian businesses”, who were feeling deeply frustrated about the COVID-19 situation in Victoria and the impact the snap, hard lockdown would have on their businesses.
“Victoria must avoid a third wave, and if the public health advice is that restrictions are required to do that, then we have to accept that they are necessary. However, Victorian businesses cannot and should not keep paying the price for the shortcomings in Victoria’s hotel quarantine system,” he said.
“The new mutant COVID-19 strain is clearly posing new challenges and Victoria must respond accordingly … until an effective vaccine is rolled out globally, quarantine is Victoria’s most important defence against devastating local outbreaks. It is up to the federal and state governments to ensure that the quarantine system is constantly under review and when changes are needed, they are quickly implemented.”
Executive director of Small Business Australia Bill Lang said many Victorian businesses which were already “on their knees financially” were taking another huge hit for the sake of the community, and deserved be financially compensated.
“As always when the system in Victoria breaks, it is the small business owners of Victoria who are asked to carry the financial burden as they are forced to close their restaurants, cafes, bars, gyms and a myriad of other businesses,” he said.
Business Council of Australia chief Jennifer Westacott said that even a short lockdown would have a “monumental” social and economic cost.
“Small businesses will now be making decisions about whether to lay off staff or destroy inventory. Airlines will be cancelling thousands of flights and shifts,” she said.
Australia desperately needed a national framework that let the country live with COVID, rather than relying on snap lockdowns to deal with outbreaks, she said.
“We can’t go on managing the country like this,” Ms Westacott said.
“Developing a national, proportionate and evidence-based plan to keep people safe and save livelihoods must be our number one priority.”
Her comments came after Melbourne Airport confirmed one of the workers in busy terminal four cafe Brunetti had tested positive for COVID-19.
Twenty-nine flights landed at, or took off from, the domestic terminal at the time the infected staff member worked, with 3591 passengers passing through the terminal and being potentially exposed.
The Brunetti worker was a close contact of a confirmed case of a Holiday Inn quarantine hotel worker and later developed the virus.
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