Coronavirus victim left Melbourne quarantine to take tram ride

A Covid-infected woman left a Melbourne quarantine hotel to board a tram in what staff claim is a major breach.

Police and staff at the Brady Hotel in Melbourne. Picture: Aaron Francis

A coronavirus-positive woman walked out of a quarantine hotel seven hours after checking in and jumped on a tram in what staff have described as a major infection control breach.

As the woman — who had suffered a recent assault, was mentally disturbed, agitated and hostile towards staff — was a voluntary isolation guest at the Brady Hotel, she was not stopped by police or Department of Health and Human Services officials.

The latest infection control controversy at the government’s domestic hotel quarantine program is set out in worker complaints and backed by an account given to The Australian by a hotel staff member.

“She arrives and is acutely behaviourally disturbed. Nurses request police presence on her floor until she’s de-escalated and ongoing monitoring for roaming behaviour, until she’s assessed as more settled,” the source told The Australian.

“Police refuse. Nurses request DHHS to provide security in lieu of police, DHHS refuse. The nurses end up monitoring the hall, working in two’s for safety. As predicted, the guest leaves the hotel, without PPE, and jumps on a tram. She does not receive a fine and is not detained, but arguably she is a significant risk to public health.”

In a series of reports this week, The Australian has exposed major operational problems within the Brady and Grand Chancellor hotels that are housing up to 200 local COVID-19 positive guests or people deemed close contacts.

On Tuesday, the government stood down a senior DHHS manager from his position at the Brady and launched an investi­gation into complaints he had plotted to sell alcohol to guests at a profit.

Premier Daniel Andrews described the alleged behaviour as “appalling”.

“It shows that that person has been involved in appalling conduct and because there’s a zero tolerance for that sort of conduct, he’s been stood down,” he said. “The circumstances of that will be investigated. That’s appropriate. I think the notion of procedural fairness is very important, but that person’s been stood down and we won’t hesitate, his superiors, the secretary of the department won’t hesitate, to act against him if any of those matters are proven.”

The drama involving the woman at the Brady Hotel in Little LaTrobe Street unfolded on Sunday, July 19. The woman checked in at 4pm.

Nurses, mental health experts and DHHS officials cloaked in PPE had been briefed on the woman’s tragic history and volatile state and were bracing for a difficult check-in process.

The guest was a victim of a recent assault, and her coronavirus diagnosis was made while she was being treated at the Royal Melbourne Hospital for the assault.

She was suffering acute mental health issues and was agitated and hostile, according to staff.

They said days earlier, after initially testing positive to COVID-19, the woman was sent to the Grand Chancellor but after a disturbance was taken back to the Royal Melbourne. From there she was brought to the Brady.

The complex human tragedy paints a nightmare picture of life in these hotels, where Melburnians who test positive, or are close contacts, are isolated for two-week stretches because they have nowhere to safely isolate. Some, like this woman, are voluntary admissions. Others are there on compulsory orders.

Many of the guests are also dealing with a range of socio-economic challenges, alcohol dependency and mental health problems.

The story of the young female is, according to a staff member, emblematic of the extreme problems still playing out daily within the government’s quarantine program.

When she was at the Grand Chancellor, according to a staff account, she left her room, roamed corridors and spat at staff. Some staff were forced into isolation by the incident.

The Australian understands that the Victorian government is not concerned about the events at the Brady. “Victoria Police is aware a woman in voluntary quarantine left the Brady Hotel on Sunday, 19 July, to seek alternate accommodation,” a source said.

“This was not a breach of the Chief Health Officer directions.”

Victoria Police said as the woman was in voluntary isolation, there was no breach of health ­orders.