Coronavirus: Gladys Berejiklian’s admits being in NSW parliament before COVID-19 test results

Gladys Berejiklian’s confirmation contradicts an earlier statement that she remained in her office while waiting for the results of her COVID-19 test.

Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed she entered NSW parliament while awaiting the results of her COVID-19 test, contradicting an earlier statement that she remained in her office throughout the period that she was waiting for the results.

The NSW Premier said she was administered the test about 4pm last Tuesday and did not receive the results until approximately 6pm, by which time she had held meetings in her office and also entered parliament.

Records from the Legislative Assembly show MS Berejiklian entering the chamber to vote on a bill at 5:42pm last Tuesday.

In an interview with 2GB’s Jim Wilson on Tuesday, Ms Berejiklian said she regretted the error of judgement and that she neglected to self-isolate more thoroughly.

“I’ve got to cop that and I deserve it, and I appreciate why people would raise issues about that,” she said.

“I don’t remember the exact time but I got tested after Question Time… it would have been about four o’clock or thereabouts that I had the test and then a couple of hours later, just after six, or thereabouts, that I got the results,” she said.

Ms Berejiklian has refused since last Wednesday to reveal to The Australian the time that she received her results and the time at which she was tested.

During an earlier interview on Tuesday the Premier said she had remained in her office during the period that she was awaiting confirmation.

“In hindsight, I should have closed my door and not seen anybody for the 90 minutes to two hours while I was waiting for the result,” she told the ABC.

Gladys Berejiklian bumps elbows with NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet after he delivered the NSW State Budget last Tuesday, November 17 — the day she was tested for COVID-19. Picture: AAP

Threats to The Australian over scoop

Gladys Berejiklian’s office attempted to stop the publication of details surrounding her breach of COVID-19 testing guidelines by issuing a threat to publicly embarrass this newspaper if an article concerning her transgression was printed.

Staff working within the NSW Premier’s office repeatedly warned The Australian that it would take “action” if an article outlining the premier’s breach of self-isolation protocols went ahead.

They also refused to answer basic questions surrounding the timing of her test, and the delivery of results, both of which remain unanswered.

Ms Berejiklian admitted on Tuesday that she had flouted the rules around COVID-19 testing after being administered a rapid COVID test in her office last Tuesday, the day the NSW Budget was handed down.

“In hindsight, I should have closed my door and not seen anybody for the 90 minutes to two hours while I was waiting for the result,” she told the ABC.

“But it was only because I was tired and losing my voice and I knew that I didn’t have any [COVID-19] symptoms. But having said that ... I’m judged accordingly and I have to accept that.”

But prior to the details being published by The Australian the Premier and her team has aggressively sought to kill the story and prevent details being printed.

The Australian initiated its enquiries with the Premier’s office last Wednesday, on the morning Ms Berejiklian revealed publicly at a press conference that she had been tested for COVID-19 and confirmed negative for the virus.

An email seeking details of the timing of the test, the delivery of the results, and whether Ms Berejiklian had self-isolated per the requirements of the test, was ignored by the Premier’s office. It subsequently issued a three-line response which ignored the submitted questions.

It said: “At no stage did the Premier have COVID-19 symptoms. As the Premier was losing her voice, she took a precautionary test. Given her role the test was administered quickly, with a rapid negative result returned.”

The following day The Australian repeated its questions and submitted a number of others, receiving an email stating in reply which said there would be “grief” if the “wildly inaccurate” claims were published. Attached to the email was the same response issued the day prior.

On Friday questions were sent a third time to the premier’s office. It replied with an email stating “action” would be taken if “inaccurate allegations” were printed.

Ms Berejiklian’s office then issued a more comprehensive answer on Monday, after The Australian published its article, stating that her test had been conducted during the afternoon on Tuesday and that the test had taken two hours to deliver its results.

Questions remain as to the exact timing around the test and the results, with the premier known to have held meetings during the afternoon – while awaiting the test results. She also made an appearance in parliament at 5:40pm for a vote.

The Australian has confirmed that she did not seek a “pair” – allowing her to be absent from parliament – which she was awaiting the test results, raising the possibility that she intended to vote in parliament should she have been required to attend.

Berejiklian admits: I didn’t isolate after test

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has admitted she did not isolate while awaiting her coronavirus test results, and said in “hindsight” she would not have continued working in parliament on budget day — against health guidelines.

Ms Berejiklian, after days of avoiding inquiries from The Australian on whether she self-isolated while awaiting test results, told the ABC and Nine’s Today program she had not changed her schedule after taking a rapid coronavirus test last Tuesday.

However she denies she is “in trouble” for violating her own government’s pandemic safety advice.

In multiple media appearances on Tuesday morning, a day after The Australian revealed the Premier continued to work while awaiting the test results, Ms Berejiklian confessed to leaving her office door open and coming into contact with other people. She said in hindsight she should have closed her door and self-isolated until the test result came back.

“On Budget day actually my voice was starting … to go,” she told the Today show.

“I had no sore throat, no scratchy throat, no other symptoms but I thought out of an abundance of caution I would take a test and I was told a result would come in 90 minutes to two hours,” she said.

“I did not change my schedule, they came, they gave me the test and it came back negative.”

When asked if she had breached social isolation rules, she said: “I have just laid out the facts… I will let others make that call.”

“I took the test not because I had any symptoms but because I was losing my voice,” she said. “And because of the circumstances I had a result in a couple of hours.”

Ms Berejiklian said she could not remember if she had any meetings when she waited for the test result, but admitted she would have come into contact with people.

“In hindsight I should have shut my door and not had any contact for 90 minutes but I didn’t do that. I just acted normal,” she said.

“I can’t tell you what I did in that time because I can’t remember but I’m sure I did leave my door open so people could come in and out.

“I took a test which I really didn’t really need to but ... perhaps in that time frame I should have shut my door and not let anyone in but I didn’t do that.”

They're the facts and I'll let others judge that"

NSW Premier @GladysB responds to claims she broke her state's own health rules by failing to self-isolate while awaiting COVID test results.

More on this story:https://t.co/FZ6WRDhjbk pic.twitter.com/Oblt9rGGli

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) November 23, 2020

In an interview on 2GB radio, she agreed she was sorry for failing to self-isolate, but stopped short of apologising in her own words.

When asked if she was sorry for failing to follow health guidelines she said: “of course”.

“Strictly when you take a test, you are meant to self-isolate,” Ms Berejiklian told 2GB.

“Because I did not feel I needed to take the test, I did not think at the time I (needed to isolate) but I should have closed my door and not met with anybody or seen anybody,” she said.

“I can’t skirt the fact that I should have shut my door.”

Ms Berejiklian said she was “disappointed” in herself for not “going that extra step that day”.

“Complacency is our biggest enemy and that is the lesson I will take forward,” she said.

The Australian revealed on Monday that two government sources had said the NSW ­Premier attended meetings with colleagues last Tuesday before undergoing a coronavirus test and while awaiting the results of that test. Ms Berejiklian’s office insists the Premier did not have virus symptoms and undertook the test out of caution.

Ms Berejiklian told others that she did not return to work until she received negative test results, but initially declined to answer specific questions.

After publication on Monday, Ms Berejiklian’s office said she took the test “as she anticipated she would be asked if she had” after beginning to lose her voice.

She took a test in the afternoon that returned negative after two hours, her office said. Losing one’s voice is not a symptom of coronavirus, but a “scratchy throat” is routinely cited by Ms Berejiklian as a potential indicator of COVID-19.

She has also repeatedly pressed anyone with symptoms to self-isolate immediately and undergo testing for symptoms as minor as a scratchy throat.

The Australian asked Ms Berejiklian’s office numerous times when she undertook her test, when she received her results, and whether she attended any meetings in the intervening period. These questions went ­unanswered.

Ms Berejiklian voted on legislation in parliament at 5.40pm. She did not seek a “pair”, an ­allowance to be absent from ­parliament, until shortly before 7pm, by which time she is understood to have already received the results.

The test is believed to have occurred after question time, which runs until 3pm, during which she chided Health Minister Brad Hazzard for interrupting one of her answers.

“I cannot hear myself. I am losing my voice,” she said.

One official familiar with the matter said Ms Berejiklian had met several colleagues through the day, including while she awaited her test results.

“She definitely had the test during the day and continued to be in parliament against the (health) advice,” the official said.

A second person familiar with the matter said they were also made aware that Ms Berejiklian was waiting for test results while she was in parliament holding ­meetings.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were concerned about the possibility of repercussions.

NSW Labor health spokesman Ryan Park said the responsibility to abide by guidelines and isolate until results had been ­received, applied to everyone.

“There are now questions that must be answered as to whether or not the Premier ­followed health advice,” Mr Park said.

He said Ms Berejiklian needed to clarify the timing of her COVID-19 test and when she received the results.

“It was clear last week that the Premier had a scratchy throat which we all know is a symptom of COVID,” he said.

Test results are normally delivered within 24-72 hours, according to NSW Health, but some can be processed faster and delivered within hours.