Melbourne tower lockdowns could have ‘horrific consequences’, Victorian government told

Victoria’s dramatic move to lock down thousands in towers could have ‘horrific consequences’.

The Victorian government’s lockdown of occupants of public housing in nine buildings to contain further possible coronavirus spreading has drawn warnings of vulnerability for the disadvantaged, including from the state Coalition opposition.

Victoria had 509 active confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday — an increase of 305 since the same time the week before.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Saturday ordered the immediate full lockdown of nine public housing towers with an estimated 3000 residents in Melbourne’s inner northwest. He has also added postcodes 3031 (Flemington and Kensington) and 3051 (North Melbourne) to the state’s list of shutdown postcodes from midnight Saturday, limiting movement.

Mr Andrews fronted the press after crisis talks to confirm his state has had its highest increase in COVID-19 cases since March, with 108 cases.

The only other day the state has had an increase of more than 100 was March 28, with 111 cases.

The Victorian Council of Social Services on Saturday warned of “horrific” consequences if the Andrews government got its lockdown of the nine towers wrong.

VCOSS chief executive Emma King said the public housing lockdowns were a “dramatic move”, but were being done to protect tenants and save lives.

“This is public-health decision, and we don’t quibble with that. The last thing we want is COVID ripping through these buildings, infecting tenants en masse,” she said.

“But we need to make sure these lockdowns are done right, done proportionately and done with sensitivity.

A sign is seen taped to a window of an apartment at a public housing flat in Flemington reading 'Dictator Dan we are not criminals! This is Classism Discrimination Martial law'. Picture: Getty

“If we get this wrong, the consequences will be horrific,’’ Ms King said.

“Some public-housing tenants have fled war or family violence. Some are dealing with mental-health challenges. Many don’t speak English as their first language. Many others work casual or insecure jobs.

“This lockdown will scare many people, and trigger memories of past trauma. Being told you cannot leave your house, or seeing police on your doorstep, can be quite confronting.

“Being cut off from outside support services and family networks will also be damaging for many people.”

Despite the Andrews government’s raft of progressive social policies, Victoria has the lowest level of spending per capita on public housing of any state or territory.

Opposition housing spokesman Tim Smith asked “how on earth” the Andrew government would successfully manage a lockdown of nine public housing towers given its bunging of hotel quarantine.

“In these towers are some of our most disadvantaged citizens: large families, recent migrants, elderly, and people with drug dependency,” Mr Smith said.

“If the Andrews Labor government gets this wrong there will be terrible consequences,’’ he said.

“Victoria has the lowest per capita spending on social housing of any state or territory.

“Unless the police are accompanied by translators, doctors, community leaders, and drug and alcohol counsellors, this will be another debacle, with potentially dire consequences. The residents in these affected towers will absolutely need support. They must be treated with respect and decency.

“The key steps from here are to make sure all tenants know what’s going on, understand why it’s happening and are given the support they need,” Mr Smith said.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said vulnerable Victorians across the state were now concerned about the risk they face.

“The extent of this crisis is growing by the day and resources will be stretched, potentially placing lives at risk,” Ms Crozier said.

“The potential for family violence in these stressful circumstances is very real and people will need help and support.

“It’s time for Daniel Andrews to put politics aside and take up the offer to have ADF personnel on the ground to assist with the growing COVID-19 crisis.”

Mr Andrews described the lockdowns as “traumatic”.

“This is a very significant step,” Mr Andrews said.

“Nine public housing towers in those postcodes will be the subject of complete lockdowns immediately. The public health advice is to close those towers.

“There are 1345 units of housing and there are approximately 3000 residents … so it is a very significant cohort, a very large group of people.

“We will provide any and all support to those residents.

“No one will be allowed in those towers and no one will be allowed into those towers.”

Pressure is mounting on Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton after he was warned about the failures in Melbourne’s hotel quarantine system more than a month before the first outbreak was detected.

Professor Sutton and other top public health officials were told in April about inadequate supply of masks and gloves, poor infection-control protocols, and breaches of physical-distancing guidelines by hotel staff, security and medical personnel, Nine Newspapersreported.

Melissa Skilbeck, deputy secretary of Victoria’s Health Department, has subsequently been stripped of her responsibilities in the days after Premier Daniel Andrews announced a judicial inquiry into the quarantine program.

The failures have set off a chain of cases contributing to the lockdown of more than 300,000 Victorians across 10 Melbourne suburbs.

Nine Newspapers reported Ms Skilbeck was responsible for regulation, health protection and emergency management of the COVID-19 pandemic and hotel quarantine system.

Deputy secretaries can earn as much as $340,000 a year. She will retain the position but have her responsibilities redrawn.

Professor Sutton sits directly below Ms Skilbeck in the department’s organisational structure.

But the public face of the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, is remaining tight-lipped about revelations he was aware of the hotel quarantine failings as early as April.

Victoria as of Saturday had a total of 2469 cases.

Of Saturday’s 108 new cases, just 14 are linked to known clusters.

A further 25 were detected through routine testing, and 69 are under investigation.

The state now has 509 active cases.

Premier Daniel Andrews conceded the lockdown move would be ‘traumatic’ for residents. Picture: Ian Currie

There are 25 people in Victorian hospitals with COVID-19, including three in intensive care.

A record 25,553 tests were conducted on Friday, contributing to a total of 906,574 tests since the pandemic began.

Of the 14 cases linked to known clusters on Saturday:

TWO new cases have been linked to the Stamford Plaza hotel quarantine outbreak, while four existing cases have been retrospectively linked, taking the total number in the outbreak to 40.

THREE new cases are linked to Al-Taqwa Islamic College in Truganina in Mebourne’s west, bringing the total in this cluster to 33. All staff and students have been quarantined and will be tested.

O new cases are linked to a family outbreak across at least eight households in Roxburgh Park in Melbourne’s outer north, taking the total in that cluster to 28.

ONE new case is linked to a gathering in Deer Park, in Melbourne’s west, taking the total number linked to the outbreak to 12.

TWO new cases are linked to an outbreak in Wollert, in Melbourne’s outer north, taking the total in that cluster to 17.

ONE new case relates to a North Melbourne public-housing apartments outbreak, taking the total in this cluster to 11 cases. Contact tracing, testing and deep cleaning is under way. The department’s outbreak squad has already visited the site.

FIVE in total COVID-19 cases linked to Optus’s Docklands head office, after two new cases were linked on Saturday.

A NEW outbreak has also been identified at the Flemington public-housing apartments, with 12 cases now linked to the site. “This includes nine residents and three extended family members from a separate household, with cases being notified and linked together by the department in recent days,” the department said. “A daily clean of all the directly affected floors at both estates has been put into place, and onsite testing began on Friday and will continue over the next few days.”

ONE new case has been identified at Ascot Vale Primary School in Melbourne’s northwest, in a known close contact of an existing case, taking the total cases in this new cluster to two.

ONE contracted healthcare worker in the Park Royal Hotel who is believed to have worked shifts while infectious has been confirmed as having COVID-19. The Victorian health department says the source of acquisition is “currently unknown and all avenues of transmission will be investigated”.

A TEACHER at Debney Meadows Primary School in Flemington in Melbourne’s inner northwest has tested positive and the acquisition source is being investigated.

Nine public housing towers in two Melbourne suburbs are home to 3000 people. Picture: Ian Currie

THREE new cases have been linked to healthcare workers in the emergency department at Northern Hospital, Epping. The source of acquisition is currently unknown, and all avenues of transmission will be investigated. These cases were only recently notified to the department and as such are not reflected in today’s numbers. The emergency department is still open, but operating at reduced capacity.

TWO cases have also been notified to the department recently in vendors from the Preston Market. “While it is not thought that any customers have been exposed, this is a timely reminder to Victorians to maintain physical distance while in retail and shopping environments,” the health department said.

The two separate outbreaks in public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington prompted the Andrews government to lock down nine public housing towers in Flemington, Kensington and North Melbourne from this afternoon.

“Effective immediately the nine towers involved will be closed and residents will be required to stay in their homes at all times,” the health department said.

“This will be in place for at least five days to ensure we can test every single resident. The lifting of this restriction will be determined by our success in testing and tracking this virus.”

Analysis of Victoria’s local government area coronavirus data for Saturday poses questions about why the Andrews government has not moved to lock down postcodes in the local government area (LGA) of Wyndham, in Melbourne’s southwest.

The area now has 45 active cases, including a net increase of 17 on Saturday.

It is centred on the suburb of Werribee, but also takes in Truganina, further west, which is home to the al-Taqwa Islamic College, so far linked to 33 cases, including three new cases on Saturday.

The suburbs of Flemington, Kensington and North Melbourne, which have now been added to the Andrews government’s lockdown, fall across the local government areas of the City of Melbourne and Moonee Valley.

It is believed this may have contributed to a delay in the government’s decision to add them to the lockdown.

The three-step formula involves first identifying local government areas with more than double the average number of COVID-19 cases for LGAs in Victoria, then reviewing all the postcodes in these LGAs.

Health bureaucrats then identify priority postcodes with more than five cases, and more than 20 cases per 100,000 residents.

Of Victoria’s 509 active cases, 227, or 45 per cent, are outside local government areas which include locked down postcodes.

The Melbourne public housing towers to be locked down under new orders on Saturday are:

FLEMINGTON, 3031

12 Holland Court

120, 126 and 130 Racecourse Rd

NORTH MELBOURNE 3051

12 Sutton St

33 Alfred St

76 Canning St

159 Melrose St

9 Pampas St

Housing Minister Richard Wynne said of the towers: “They are all characterised by having common lifts, common entrances and common walkways within the flats themselves so on the expert advice of the Chief Health Officer we believe that they present an acute challenge going forward.”