Victoria’s shock new contact tracing bungles revealed

An embarrassing series of contact tracing bungles have been exposed, with significant issues plaguing the system again.

Victoria’s contact tracing system has been exposed by a series of new bungles.

The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal three significant issues across state and federal jurisdictions emerged on Saturday – the day after Victoria was plunged into a five-day lockdown.

As authorities scramble to close any gaps in the net after COVID-19 crept out of hotel quarantine again, those impacted by the bungles have spoken up in the hope flaws can be fixed.

They include:

A RELATIVE of a hotel quarantine worker whose isolation clearance never arrived because authorities had incorrect contact details;

A PATIENT in intensive care due to COVID-19 from the Holiday Inn cluster who was phoned by contact tracers to tell him he had coronavirus;

SOME of the hundreds of airline passengers who did not go near a virus hotspot at terminal 4 but were sent text messages telling them to isolate.

The relative of the hotel worker, who declined to be named for fear it would impact on their job, said they were told to isolate due to being a secondary contact. After isolating for the required 48 hours and their relative testing negative to COVID-19, they went shopping and to their child’s kindergarten.

The Holiday in at Tullamarine Airport was the site of Melbourne’s outbreak Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Crosling

But authorities, who had called her relative due to a wrong phone number listed in their records, later told her to return to isolation.

After she tried to contact authorities to check what to do, her relative was called back — and when she finally got her clearance it was under her relative’s address.

“I honestly lost all faith of getting out of this (lockdown) situation in Victoria,” she said. “We are reaching out and trying to do the right thing and you are telling us your system is gold class or whatever you said, but quite clearly it isn’t.”

The intensive care patient has become a central focus of the current Holiday Inn cluster after the government said his nebuliser device may have helped spread the virus.

He said he had felt like he was being blamed for spreading coronavirus after using his device — which turns medication into a fine spray — after telling hotel staff.

On Saturday he told the Sunday Herald Sun that despite this he received an email from the Department of Health shortly after 1pm on Saturday alerting him that he “had COVID-19”.

The email came nine days after he tested positive, and several days after he was admitted to ICU.

He said the email had spelt his name wrong, and when a contact tracer called him they didn’t understand he had already done contact tracing over a week ago.

“We got a call 9 days ago and went through every possibly contact. I said to the guy I am aware I have COVID I’m the guy who’s been in ICU,” he said.

“They were asking me about my close contacts, and I said the only people I’ve been around are nurses and doctors who are in full PPE.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the government has “learnt nothing from the catastrophic failings of contact tracing causing a prolonged second wave and Victorians are paying the price again”.

Premier Daniel Andrews has strenuously defended upgrades to the contact tracing system in the state, saying it was now a gold standard that other states would look towards.

He said this week that the “hyper infectious” strain of a new UK variant was instead to blame.

The Holiday Inn at Tullamarine Airport was closed down and evacuated Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Crosling

Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, also said yesterday that contact tracers were “doing their work to really get on top of those chains of transmission” but there was still concern about the number of UK variant cases growing.

The premier urged Victorians to keep following the rules during the “short sharp” five day lockdown but said he understood people were hurting.

“There is pain out there and I will have more to say about support for business and others who have been negatively impacted by this absolutely necessary public health measure, to protect all the things we’ve built, this precious thing with built.”

In a glimmer of good news yesterday, Mr 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 staff member is linked to the Holiday Inn outbreak, which is now up 14 cases.

The terminal 4 case caused panic among many interstate travellers who returned to Melbourne yesterday, with a national incident room text message alerting any passenger who had been in Melbourne Airport they should isolate for 14 days.

Melburnians with symptoms have been urged to get tested for COVID since the latest outbreak Picture: Andrew Henshaw

One passenger said he tried to contact a number provided in the text message to explain he had only been to terminal 1, but couldn’t get through to anyone. Instead, a text message was sent the following day to retract the message.

One new locally acquired coronavirus case was announced by authorities on Saturday, with 20,116 tests carried out in a 24 hour period.

The latest case is a male in his 30s who lives in the Point Cook area, who is a friend of a Holiday Inn worker.

Testing commander Jeroen Weimar said all 38 of the person’s close contacts had been notified and isolated, with testing underway.

As of Saturday night there were 20 active cases in Victoria.

Mr Andrews said flights have been suspended into Victoria during the lockdown, but about 100 passengers would return who are currently en route.

Health chief Brett Sutton said he was “confident” that a five-day lockdown was “enough” amid concern legal directives allowed for a two-week stay home order.

“I am confident that five days is enough,” Prof Sutton said.

“But we will do whatever is necessary to get on top of this.”