Infected Toorak doctor demands apology from minister Jenny Mikakos

Jenny Mikakos slammed infected doctor Chris Higgins - father of singer Missy Higgins - for going to work with flu-like symptoms.

Toorak doctor Chris Higgins withb his singer daughter Missy Higgins.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos has resisted mounting pressure to apologise to a doctor she criticised for seeing ­patients while unknowingly ­infected with the coronavirus, re­iterating that it was “imperative” health workers stay away from work if unwell to protect the public ahead of a “likely pandemic”.

Ms Mikakos said she had “been in touch” with Toorak GP Chris Higgins — the father of singer Missy Higgins — on Saturday night “to wish him a speedy recovery” but would not confirm whether she had offered him the apology he had requested after he accused her of misrepresenting his situation.

Ms Mikakos angered the medical community after telling a press conference on Saturday that she was “flabbergasted that a doctor that has flu-like symptoms has presented to work”.

Mr Higgins saw about 70 ­patients at the Toorak Clinic ­between Monday and Thursday last week, when he tested positive for COVID-19, having recently returned from the US.

The 11th Victorian to be confirmed as infected, he is in isolation and the clinic has been closed while the Health Department seeks to contact his patients. A 12th case was confirmed on Sunday, with a woman in her 50s visiting from Jakarta testing positive for the illness.

Dr Higgins, who has the backing of the Australian Medical ­Association, hit back on Ms ­Mikakos’s Facebook page, claiming his symptoms were those of a mild cold and had mostly cleared when he made the decision to go to work. He tested himself for the virus even though he didn’t meet the official criteria for testing.

“I believe you have taken a cheap opportunity for political grandstanding and would appreciate an apology,” he wrote.

AMA president Tony Bartone said he deserved an apology.

Ms Mikakos issued a statement on Sunday, acknowledging that this was a “difficult situation for the GP and for his patients”. “All workers in the healthcare system do an incredible job caring for Victorians and we understand the pressure they can feel to turn up to work when they are feeling unwell,” she said.

“But let me be very clear: these are exceptional circumstances. We are still in the containment phase of what will likely be a pandemic. If you work in a health service … it is absolutely imperative that if you are unwell or display the risk factors of COVID-19 that you do not attend work.”

The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services said none of the 70 patients seen by Dr Higgins last week had shown signs of becoming unwell.