Victorian health authorities are investigating suspected coronavirus transmission within the state's hotel quarantine system, after three cases emerged from the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport.
Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton (R) speaks as state premier Daniel Andrews (L) listens during a press conference in Melbourne on July 22, 2020. Photo: AFP / William West
The first case was detected in a female worker who tested positive on Sunday, and a second worker's positive result was revealed late this afternoon.
A case was also detected today in a returned traveller who had served her 14 days of quarantine at the Holiday Inn before she was released on Sunday.
After hearing about the first positive case in a worker, the returned traveller sought testing and tested positive.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said authorities believed the virus was spreading within the hotel quarantine system and the traveller had become infected "just before" the end of her stay.
"We think that's what's happened in this case," he said.
"Therefore, the focus of our attention is on the transmission that might have occurred on the relevant floor where positive cases were known to be."
Health Minister Martin Foley said close contacts of the recent cases, including others who completed their quarantine at the Holiday Inn on Sunday, would now have to undergo another 14 days of quarantine.
"We know that this will come as difficult news to those people who have just completed their 14 days' mandatory hotel quarantine isolation, but it is a necessary public health move," he said.
Prof Sutton said in addition to a state-based review of the Holiday Inn outbreak he expected there would be detailed discussions amongst chief health officers on bolstering hotel quarantine systems across Australia.
"It'll be an end-to-end review of all of the mitigations that can be put into place, including the testing before someone leaves their country of origin to come to Australia," he said.
"But also that Swiss cheese model - all of the systems, elements that you can put in place to reduce the risk of transmissions."
- ABC
