The Victorian Government has launched an urgent intervention at a quarantine hotel, standing down security guards amid concerns about disease control, according to reports.
Staff were hastily pulled from the floor of the Novotel in Southbank and replaced by police after the government was alerted about concerns over infection control.
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A health care worker at one of the quarantine hotels has told The Age she saw infection control breaches every day, similar to those that led to Victoria's deadly second wave.
The reports have appeared to spark immediate action from the government to avoid a possible third wave just as the state begins to gain control over the virus.
Victoria's hotel quarantine program for return overseas travellers ended in June, however the program is running for those that test positive but can't self-isolate at home.
This includes those vulnerable in the community and some living in housing commission towers.
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On Tuesday, the Victorian Government confirmed nine workers at two quarantine hotels had contracted the virus since the overhaul, but claim they didn't get the virus from working at the quarantine hotels.
The news comes just three days after the Victoria's COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry ended, revealing the state's system caused 768 deaths and more than 18,000 infections.
"This was a program which failed to meet its primary objective — to keep us safe from the virus," counsel assisting the inquiry Ben Ihle said.
The inquiry was told the scheme to protect Victorians from coronavirus was thrown together in less than two days in March.
One of the biggest questions put to the inquiry — the person or group responsible for deciding on the use of private security in quarantine hotels — remains unanswered.
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