Hotel quarantine worker who caught COVID working in aged care was infectious while at work

Hotel quarantine worker who caught COVID while also working in aged care at height of second wave was infectious at work.

The Andrews government has finally confirmed the details after more than a week of questioning from journalists regarding nine hotel quarantine workers who tested positive for the virus between July 27 and the end of August. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tim Carrafa

A hotel quarantine worker who was also working shifts in an aged care facility at the height of Victoria‘s second wave of coronavirus worked for two days at Melbourne’s Grand Chancellor quarantine hotel while infectious in late July.

The Andrews government has confirmed the details after more than a week of questioning from journalists regarding nine hotel quarantine workers who tested positive for the virus between July 27 and the end of August, more than two months after clusters linked to all of Victoria‘s second wave of infections emerged in quarantine hotels, and weeks after Premier Daniel Andrews announced an inquiry on June 30.

A spokeswoman confirmed late on Sunday night the staff member “likely acquired COVID-19 while working at a private aged care facility.”

“The staff member worked at the hotel on July 28 and 29 while infectious,” she said.

“Symptom onset was July 30 and diagnosis was August 4. The staff member was in isolation from July 30.

“The two days the staff member worked at the Grand Chancellor while infectious and pre-symptomatic was during the transition of the program (from the Department of Health and Human Services) to the Department of Justice and Community Safety.

“There are now strict measures in place to prevent staff undertaking outside employment and anyone who does so without approval will face disciplinary measures.”

The news comes after Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday said he did not know whether the worker had been infectious while at work, and defended the worker having moved between the two vulnerable sites by saying that the government was unable to reduce worker movement “to zero”.

The incident occurred at a time when the Andrews government was shutting down entire industries and making it illegal for hundreds of thousands of Victorians to attend work in a bid to suppress the spread of the virus.

The Australian understands the staff member was employed by cleaning and catering company Spotless, which was contracted by Alfred Health in the overhauled hotel quarantine program to fulfil cleaning, catering and “community support officer” roles such as monitoring floors of the hotel to ensure guests stayed in their rooms, checking bags and performing administrative duties.

Victoria stopped taking overseas arrivals in late June, but the Grand Chancellor and Brady hotels remained as quarantine hotels for vulnerable people, including public housing residents, who were unable to safely isolate at home.

The Andrews government spokeswoman said that when DJC took over the program, Spotless “required their staff to attest that they had not worked anywhere else for 14 days”.

“Alfred Health has always had policies are in place to prevent any secondary employment without permission,” the spokeswoman said.

“Since the Department of Justice and Community Safety took over the COVID-19 Accommodation program all employees must sign an attestation that they have not worked anywhere else for 14 days.

“The only exceptions to this are when someone has sought permission for secondary employment or training – which does not involve face-to-face contact.

“Aged care facilities or other high risk settings would not be approved – no matter the role being undertaken.

“Approval to date has been very limited and is typically reserved for our former airline staff if they need to keep a home businesses running or maintain training requirements for their airline work.”

The spokeswoman said that to date, 86 requests for approval regarding outside employment had been denied and 46 accepted.

She said permission had only been given in the following circumstances:

– Simulation pilot training (only where that individual is not currently rostered on for the next 14 days in active COVID-19 Accommodation program roster);

– Online employment and training;

– Occasional non-online work, but only where there is no public interaction and that staff member is not currently working in an active hotel or rostered on for the next 14 days.