‘Very worried’: Chaos at Melbourne hotel
Nine people have been infected with Covid-19 at a hotel used for Melbourne’s homeless, and infected guests are coming and going as they please.
Nine people in just three weeks have been infected with Covid-19 at a hotel used to accommodate Melbourne’s homeless, but infected guests are coming and going as they please.
Among those infected with the coronavirus are seven rough sleepers who were given rooms at the Ibis Styles Kingsgate hotel and two security guards who work there.
The situation at the hotel on King Street in the Melbourne CBD is dire, but the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services refused to list the location as a Tier 1 exposure site — to do so would mean everybody who has worked there or visited, including the 140 homeless guests, would need to isolate somewhere else for 14 days.
Emails between staff at the hotel and DHHS, seen by news.com.au, show workers are worried about their own safety.
“I am writing this email because I am extremely worried about what’s going on,” a staff member wrote on October 2 when there were seven infected guests.
Staff raised a number of questions with the department including:
1. “Why are we still a Tier 2 site (when) there are seven confirmed positive cases in our building?”
2. “Why are we not testing all the residents?”
A Department of Health staff member responded, saying there were “challenges” around “enforcing the residents to quarantine for 14 days” and “we are still considering this a Tier 2 site”.
News.com.au understands at least one infected resident of the hotel was asked to stay in their room but left the hotel only to return several days later.
The Department of Health did not provide a response when asked about that specific incident.
A spokesperson said: “The Department is aware of cases of Covid-19 associated with the Ibis Kingsgate hotel. All residents on relevant floors are being urged to test and isolate.”
The spokesperson said all positive cases were relocated to dedicated quarantine facilities, but news.com.au understands the process of relocation took several days and during that time infected individuals were able to leave their rooms and venture outside the hotel.
The spokesperson said affected residents were “offered appropriate support and health advice, as well as food and medical supplies during this time”.
The Department of Health has been working with the Department of Justice and Community Safety and homelessness agencies to get people off the street during the pandemic.
Since March last year, the Victorian Government has spent nearly $220 million on the program which currently accommodates almost 3000 individuals at different locations.
But it has not been smooth sailing.
In July last year, during Victoria’s second wave, a small group of homeless people at the Ibis Styles Kingsgate tested positive. Others who were staying at the hotel reported hearing screaming throughout the night.
The DHHS spokesperson says the program is about keeping people safe, especially when they are vulnerable.
“You can’t stay at home if you don’t have a home,” they told news.com.au.
“The Victorian Government acted quickly at the start of the lockdown offering rough sleepers accommodation to protect some of our most vulnerable Victorians, as well as the broader community from the spread of the virus.”
Victoria recorded 1420 new locally-acquired Covid-19 cases on Wednesday and 11 deaths.
It comes a day after the state recorded a pandemic-high 1763 cases.
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