It was not clear who was in charge of Victoria's hotel quarantine program, an inquiry has heard, with the hastily organised scheme put together in 48 hours as travellers returned to Australia at the start of the pandemic.
Key points:
- The inquiry is looking at how the quarantine program was run, and why private security was hired
- The counsel assisting says there were 'overlapping areas of responsibility' among departments
- Key genomic data could shed light on how the virus was spread
Genomic sequencing from the Doherty Institute has suggested outbreaks from the program were responsible for the virus's reintroduction to the Victorian community, and the inquiry chaired by former judge Jennifer Coate is examining who was in charge of the hotel scheme and how it was run.
In opening statements, counsel assisting the inquiry Tony Neal QC said the program "fell short of its goal" of preventing returned overseas travellers spreading COVID-19 to the community.
"There is material suggesting for some participants in the program, it was not clear who was in overall command of the operation," he said.
"From the very beginning it seems there were multiple and potentially overlapping areas of responsibilities between departments."
Mr Neal said "steps were set in train" for the program at a meeting at the Victorian State Control Centre on March 27, in time for the first arrivals to be placed into hotel quarantine on March 29.
He said the inquiry would seek to determine how the program was structured and who was ultimately responsible for its operation, why private security firms were hired to oversee returned travellers, and what improvements could be made if hotel quarantine was required in future.
Mr Neal said the inquiry had received more than 180,000 pages of documents from government agencies, private operators and individuals linked to the hotel quarantine scheme.
Genomic sequencing to come under microscope
Ben Howden, a director at the Doherty Institute, is due to present evidence this afternoon that could shed light on how genomic sequencing traced the spread of virus clusters emanating from the hotel program.
State ministers and department staff will also be called over the course of the inquiry, while travellers and people who worked within the program are expected to give evidence on Thursday and Friday this week.
Professor Lindsay Grayson, the director of infectious diseases and microbiology at Austin Health, told the inquiry the virus was usually spread through larger droplets from coughing and sneezing.
He said it was possible it could be spread by people touching surfaces with droplets on them, and there was some evidence people could catch the virus from airborne "droplet nuclei" that travelled further than one metre and lingered in the air.
Professor Grayson said the use of masks was "crucial" when encountering COVID-19 patients.
He said goggles or safety glasses helped prevent droplets getting in the eyes, and disposable gowns protected clothes from becoming contaminated.
Training module completed by guards advised against mask use
Professor Grayson was critical of an online federal government training module that guards were required to complete to work in hotels, titled 'How to protect yourself and the people you are caring for from infection with COVID-19'.
"The majority of it is like a training module for the general public, rather than someone who is going to come into direct contact or be responsible for managing COVID patients," he said.
Professor Grayson said the module was "confusing", because it said people did not need to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"Clearly this is misleading for health workers or quarantine staff if they thought they didn't need to wear a mask," he said.
Today's inquiry kicked off hours after the Victorian Government announced the state's highest daily death toll of 25, and 282 new cases in the last 24 hours.
More than 300 Victorians have died after contracting COVID-19, and nearly 8,000 active cases remain.
Ms Coate is expected to deliver findings in November.
The hearings are separate to a state parliament inquiry, run by the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, which is also looking into the Victorian Government's response to the pandemic.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA4LTE3L2hvdGVsLXF1YXJhbnRpbmUtaW5xdWlyeS12aWN0b3JpYS1oZWFycy1mcm9tLW1lZGljYWwtZXhwZXJ0cy8xMjU2NDY3NtIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjU2NDY3Ng?oc=5
2020-08-17 03:56:00Z
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