About 10 staff from DELWP were recruited to work in the hotels as authorised officers, responsible for enforcing the 14-day mandatory quarantine of international arrivals to Melbourne from the end of March.
A Victorian government department withdrew all of its public servants from hotel quarantine work after the Health Department failed to address fears about health and safety.
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp is set to appear before the hotel quarantine inquiry on Tuesday.Premier Daniel Andrews has been called to give evidence next Wednesday. Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp, who oversaw the response to Victoria's most recent bushfires, is listed to appear this Tuesday. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton and his predecessor, Graham Ashton, will also front the inquiry this week.
Ms Gavens said there was a lack of oversight of staff contracted to work in the hotels, including security guards who were not wearing protective gear or socially distancing. "As discussed, if we are unable to resolve these today, we do need to remove DELWP staff from Operation Soteria deployments until further notice. Can you please confirm that these staff have been removed from roster if we are unable to progress issues today?"
"I am used to working in dangerous environments, having worked in firefighting and the military, but I could not rely on the system or people around me to keep the environment safe," Mr Ashford said. The woman said the guard had asked her how many days she had left in quarantine, and when she told him she had five days to go, he said: "Oh that's not good, only five. I wanted to ask you out."The woman "feels very unsafe now at that hotel", the complaint record read.
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