Victoria’s Holiday Inn COVID-19 cluster grows to 13 as two new cases confirmed

Two more people linked to the Holiday Inn coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne have tested positive for coronavirus, as fears grow for the cluster.

Erin Lyons and Matt Young

4 min read

February 12, 2021 - 6:59AM

NCA NewsWire

Two more people linked to the Holiday Inn coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne have tested positive for coronavirus overnight as fears grow over the rising number of cases linked to the cluster.

Both of the latest COVID-19 cases are household primary close contacts of previously announced infections.

It brings the total outbreak to 13, with six of the cases already confirmed by genomic sequencing as having the UK’s highly contagious B117 strain.

Victoria Health also added Brunetti at Melbourne Airport’s Terminal 4 to the list of Tier 1 exposure sites overnight. Anyone who visited the cafe between 4.45am and 1.15pm on Tuesday 9 February must get tested and remain isolated for 14 days.

Chief health officer Brett Sutton speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Geraghty

Two further individuals linked to the Holiday Inn outbreak have tested positive to coronavirus (COVID-19). Both are household primary close contacts of previously announced cases. This brings the number of cases linked to this outbreak to 13.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) February 11, 2021

Earlier, a staff member at the Holiday Inn in Tullamarine became the latest infection linked to the cluster. Victoria’s Deputy Secretary of Community Engagement and Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said at that point that it was a “working assumption” that all cases associated with the hotel cluster were of the UK variant.

“Clearly it is a very live outbreak, we are at this stage reassured by the fact that all of these positives emerged from a primary contact field, that is important to us.

“And although we are now seeing two cases of household transmission, again it’s in the household, that gives us some confidence, but that is early days.”

A new location has been added to our list of Tier 1 exposure sites following further investigation by our public health team.

Tuesday 9th February 2021
Brunetti: Terminal 4, Melbourne Airport â€“ 04:45am â€“ 1:15pm
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) February 11, 2021

It comes as Australia’s chief medical officer said he will investigate claims that a man breached hotel quarantine requirements in the state and slipped through hotel staff to deliver a PlayStation 4 to a friend in quarantine.

The potential breach at the Park Royal hotel is the latest blow for Victoria as it grapples with its growing cluster near Melbourne airport.

At a press conference on Thursday, Professor Paul Kelly said he would “follow it up” and that the situation was “not ideal”.

“What you describe there is not ideal of course, we want quarantine to be exactly that, to separate people from the wider community to minimise the chances of the virus spreading.

“So thats not an ideal situation and I’m sure the Victorian authorities are looking into that, but I’ll follow it up.”

Jeroen Weimar, Deputy Secretary for Community Engagement & Testing Commander in Melbourne. Picture: Luis Ascui

Details of the latest two cases are yet to be announced, but Mr Weimar said the earlier positive case was an employee, believed to be an assistant manager, of the hotel.

“She was already a primary close contact,” he said, meaning she would have been been isolating since either Monday or Tuesday.

She was tested on Wednesday and returned a positive result on Thursday.

Another two cases linked to the cluster revealed earlier on Thursday were spouses of staff members, Mr Weimar said.

“We have two cases today who are spouses of workers at the Holiday Inn hotel. Those spouses, the workers at the hotel turned positive yesterday and in the previous day. Their spouses have now tested positive,” he said.

Details of the new infections came after three workers and two residents, both released from quarantine before testing positive, were diagnosed with coronavirus, and linked to the outbreak.

A family of three had earlier been identified as the epicentre of the hotel cluster. They were infectious before arriving in Victoria.

One of the residents who tested positive after being released from quarantine visited two bank branches, Commonwealth and HSBC, in Glen Waverley, which were listed as exposure sites.

They join several venues in Sunbury, including a busy shopping centre and a bottle shop, which were added to the alerts list earlier in the week.

Victoria’s latest outbreak is linked to the Holiday Inn at the airport (pictured). Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Crosling

The health department said it’s still determining whether there are any new exposure sites linked to the new case.

The Holiday Inn at Tullamarine was closed on Wednesday for “terminal cleaning” and patrons were evacuated after the virus escaped into the community from the establishment.

Guests are being moved to the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne.

Earlier in the week, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews revealed anyone who spent 15 minutes or more at the Holiday Inn between January 27 and February 9 was considered a close contact and must isolate for 14 days.

The closure has also plunged more than 130 staff into isolation.

“If you are in hotel quarantine and you are currently being moved to a new hotel because we are doing a terminal clean of the Holiday Inn, you will have to continue your quarantine for at least three days,” he said.

“It may be the full 14, but at this stage it will be at least three days and then, subject to testing and the evolution of this theory, we will keep people informed.”

Patrons at the Holiday Inn were evacuated on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Crosling

The evacuation comes after Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton revealed authorities were working on the “hypothesis” that the three cases were linked to an exposure event that involved a medical device called a nebuliser.

“It vaporises medication or liquid into a very fine mist,” Professor Sutton said.

He said if it was used for medication, and someone was infectious, the device could cause fine particles to be suspended in the air that could be breathed in.

“We think the exposures are all related to that event, the use of a nebuliser whereby the virus was carried out into the corridor and exposed the authorised officer, the food and beverage service worker and also the other resident,” he said.

Authorities have yet to indicate if there will be any policy changes due to the cluster.

During the second wave in Victoria, the state underwent a second strict lockdown which lasted almost four months.

Read related topics:Melbourne