Coronavirus: Victorian Health Department refused to test patient’s co-workers

Victorian health authorities refused­ to test more than two dozen close contacts of a confirme­d coronavirus case.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has tasked former Federal Court judge Jennifer Coate with running an inquir­y into the bungled hotel quarantine program. Picture: AFP

Victorian health authorities refused­ to test more than two dozen close contacts of a confirme­d coronavirus case, in a breach of official federal government health advice.

McDonald’s Australia closed its Mill Park franchise in ­Melbourne’s northeast on June 25 for cleaning when a worker, who had no contact with the public, came down with COVID-19.

Using guidelines issued­ by the state Department of Health and Human Services, McDonald’s traced infected workers, identifying 26 it deemed to be at risk.

But despite the close contacts being ordered by McDonald’s to self-isolate for a fortnight, the DHHS told them they were not required to be tested.

That incident came just days before Victoria’s infection rate exploded, rising from 30 cases on June 26 to more than 230 recorded on Wednesday.

The Australian reported last week on federal health officials’ concerns that Victoria did not have the resources to properly trace contacts of infecte­d people.

Premier Daniel Andrews has also tasked former Federal Court judge Jennifer Coate with running an inquir­y into the bungled hotel quarantine program, with testing linking many of the state’s COVID-19 outbreaks to infection-control breaches.

The coronavirus cluster in Sydney’s southwest, which began at the Crossroads Hotel in Ca­sula, has also been traced to a Melbourne man who travelled interstate on June 30.

The NSW and Queensland governments are urging anyone who was at the Crossroads Hotel in the first week of this month to be tested, even if they have no symptoms.

That cluster spread to 34 people on Wednesday, an increase of 10 cases, reaching Revesby, Brighton-Le-Sands, Parramatta and the Southern Highlands town of Bowral.

A line of traffic leads to a pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic at Victoria Park in Picton on the outskirts of Sydney’s southwest. The coronavirus cluster in Sydney has also been traced to a Melbourne man Picture: Getty Images

In Melbourne, McDonald’s told The Australian it regarded the Victorian DHHS advice for 26 of its workers not to be tested as contrary to its own controls.

“While we respect the department’s advice as the experts managing this very difficult situation, our preference remains that any potential close contacts should be instructed to be tested,” a company spokesman said.

“McDonald’s has a very productive working relationship with the (DHHS) and has continued to act above and beyond the department’s requirements out of an abundance of caution.”

No further positive cases have been identified from the 26 employees who were close contacts of the June 26 case, The Australian was told.

But federal Health Department advice states that anyone who has been in contact with an infected person should be tested. “Testing is important for anyone with symptoms and particularly if any of the following apply to you … you have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 days,” the advice reads.

The DHHS did not respond to queries. Its advice is that testing is recommended for people who have been in close contact with a confirmed case only if they display symptoms.