Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[Flying mermaid]

Today we learnt that with the tennis cohort who stayed in SA, one of them tested positive but it was deemed to be an old infection so nothing was disclosed at the time.

One rule for some.....

Dr FM was telling me someone she knows is in Quarantine in Sydney. He had Covid in Dubai in January, did his 14 days in isolation and recovered. Returned a few days ago and returned a positive, so is being moved to a Health hotel. He has been told he will only be allowed to leave once he returns 2 negative tests. He queried what would happen if he is one of the people who sheds for 90 days and he was told he will be kept in Quarantine for 90 days!

he is hoping once he gets there and can talk to a doctor who knows a bit more about persistent shedding, he might have a better answer!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

So this family who stayed at the Holiday inn at the airport -were they moved to the Novotel South Wharf or Holiday Inn in the city when discovered positive?

They are yet to confirm if they were moved. When they became positive etc

 

[Must...Fly!]

They are yet to confirm if they were moved. When they became positive etc

Preparing the spin doctoring?

I'll try to think optimistically until all is revealed but if they weren't moved I'd love to know the rationale for why. Makes a mockery of their claims of best practice and having the best program in Australia - if they don't follow their own rules

 

[RooFlyer]

He queried what would happen if he is one of the people who sheds for 90 days and he was told he will be kept in Quarantine for 90 days!

he is hoping once he gets there and can talk to a doctor who knows a bit more about persistent shedding, he might have a better answer!

Does the guy play tennis? Perhaps he could say he's a late entry for the Australian open in Melbourne.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Does the guy play tennis? Perhaps he could say he's a late entry for the Australian open in Melbourne.

Thought everyone had equal treatment

 

[RooFlyer]

Thought everyone had equal treatment

You might be referring to my extended discussion with a other member here about Australian Open players Vs regular Victorians & whether they all had the same access to rapid testing for 'shedding' Vs just being positive & all that entails. The conclusion was 'No.'

 

[jakeseven7]

Great testing numbers and no more cases than already known about.

Hundreds of contacts in there too so good news so far.

I guess because of the testing protocols they have they are catching them very early which is helping.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

You might be referring to my extended discussion with a other member here about Australian Open players Vs regular Victorians & whether they all had the same access to rapid testing for 'shedding' Vs just being positive & all that entails. The conclusion was 'No.'

Lol. We were discussing Victoria and what the Vic DHHS did with positives that returned low viral loads.

Numerous and ongoing examples in Vic of people being checked for viral shedding, viral shedding, false positives etc.

Whether NSW has a different practice I don't now.

 

[RooFlyer]

Lol. We were discussing Victoria and what the Vic DHHS did with positives that returned low viral loads.

Numerous examples in Vic of people being checked for viral shedding, viral shedding, false positives etc.

No we were discussing a different issue from that, viz: comparison of the services ( and especially their timeliness) Australian Open players received in the face of virus positive results versus what ordinary Victorians could access.

 

[dajop]

No we were discussing a different issue from that, viz: comparison of the services ( and especially their timeliness) Australian Open players received in the face of virus positive results versus what ordinary Victorians could access.

Although I think we did establish that those deemed to be shedding during HQ or in the community in Victoria would not be treated the same as those with active virus, at least once they were in Victoria (pre-boarding international flight though was the issue, where I think we concluded that there could well be differential treatment).

But in the last few posts we are comparing the treatment of someone in AQ quarantine in SA with someone in HQ in NSW, and as we know with the pandemic states do seem to do their own thing.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Although I think we did establish that those deemed to be shedding during HQ or in the community in Victoria would not be treated the same as those with active virus,

In Vic for people tested here whether in HQ or just those that present for testing if their test returns a low viral load it is automatically flagged for review in all cases. You don't have to be special as at least in Vic it is down for all such cases (obviously during the second wave things would have slipped somewhat.

The Vic DHHS has long had a specific expert committee which was set up to review exactly these cases.

The outcomes of which are reported in the daily Vic DHHS report. These days this is always a pretty quick process, but genomic sequencing and blood tests can take a day or so. They also make a determination on if the person is infectious and if so how infectious. It may also be determined that the result was a false positive. Typically the person will also have the PCR test repeated.

If it is deemed viral shedding and that they are not infectious:

• If in quarantine, they will still have to complete the required period.
• As they these days will most likely have been transferred to a hot-hotel, they have to complete their quarantine there (ie as with all the AO cases) and cannot go back to the quarantine hotel
• If in the general public (ie Not HQ) they will be able to cease isolation unless they are a close contact who has to serve the 14 days regardless ( The second ring and casual contacts are allowed to cease quarantine with a negative test, or false test etc).

Long-haulers would only stay in isolation in Vic if deemed to be infectious. So if genuine positive and infectious they stay in isolation. Such cases are rare. Again NSW Health and Qld Health may well do things differently.

Tennis player or not in Vic the process is the same after arrival.



Essential workers, of which the AO group are but one group, can get special entry arrangements into Australia. The AO was a big group and had particular conditions imposed to allow it including paying for HQ here. People in film etc also have managed special arrangements for entry. ie Matt Damon, private jet in and then straight to his own private accommodation with a private medical firm supervising, but with NSW Police involved.

 

[jakeseven7]

View attachment 240575


Great testing numbers and no more cases than already known about.

Hundreds of contacts in there too so good news so far.

I guess because of the testing protocols they have they are catching them very early which is helping.

And from the VIC press conference, no additional close contact locations are added either (so far), which means public exposure is probably minimal to the new worker case as well.

Unfortunately now all people that have been in the Holiday Inn for 15 mins or more are now classed as contacts and now have to get tested and isolated for 14 days. Really feel for these people. Is this a bit over the top??

 

[jakeseven7]

I mentioned earlier that there has been talk that cleaners were given the wrong instructions on which floor needed a deep clean and so a whole floor may have not been cleaned correctly. Perhaps a positive case was moved from the hotel to the “hot hotel” and their room wasn’t cleaned properly?

Is there a source for that or just more rumours....?

Today Brett said they are working on a hypothesis that a nebuliser may be the cause.

No mention of cleaners being given wrong instructions...

---

Nebuliser use could be to blame​

Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there was a working theory that a nebuliser could have spread the COVID-19 particles in the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn.

Victoria grapples with growing Melbourne Airport hotel cluster

The two new infections linked to the Holiday Inn are a quarantine worker and a returned traveller who left the hotel on February 7.

www.abc.net.au

 

[jase05]

Is there a source for that or just more rumours....?

Today Brett said they are working on a hypothesis that a nebuliser may be the cause.

No mention of cleaners being given wrong instructions...

---

Nebuliser use could be to blame​

Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there was a working theory that a nebuliser could have spread the COVID-19 particles in the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn.

Victoria grapples with growing Melbourne Airport hotel cluster

The two new infections linked to the Holiday Inn are a quarantine worker and a returned traveller who left the hotel on February 7.

www.abc.net.au

Was clearly mentioned in an earlier post that it was rumour only. Perhaps we will find out in due time or it might be another one of these breaches where the investigation hits a brick wall

 

[Princess Fiona]

Is there a source for that or just more rumours....?

Today Brett said they are working on a hypothesis that a nebuliser may be the cause.

No mention of cleaners being given wrong instructions...

---

Nebuliser use could be to blame​

Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there was a working theory that a nebuliser could have spread the COVID-19 particles in the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn.

Victoria grapples with growing Melbourne Airport hotel cluster

The two new infections linked to the Holiday Inn are a quarantine worker and a returned traveller who left the hotel on February 7.

www.abc.net.au

And from the VIC press conference, no additional close contact locations are added either (so far), which means public exposure is probably minimal to the new worker case as well.

Unfortunately now all people that have been in the Holiday Inn for 15 mins or more are now classed as contacts and now have to get tested and isolated for 14 days. Really feel for these people. Is this a bit over the top??

If the exposure was due to a Nebulizer that’s an Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP). We haven’t used nebulizers in the ED since last April except in specific highly controlled circumstances in negative pressure rooms. It’s been known since SARS that they are high risk for transmission.
Any staff undertaking or assisting in an AGP must be wearing full PPE (N-95 mask and face shield etc).

I am somewhat surprised that nebulizers are being used in quarantine hotel rooms.

 

[Must...Fly!]

If the exposure was due to a Nebulizer that’s an Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP). We haven’t used nebulizers in the ED since last April except in specific highly controlled circumstances in negative pressure rooms. It’s been known since SARS that they are high risk for transmission.
Any staff undertaking or assisting in an AGP must be wearing full PPE (N-95 mask and face shield etc).

I am somewhat surprised that nebulizers are being used in quarantine hotel rooms.

World's best practice, we were told.

 

[jase05]

If the exposure was due to a Nebulizer that’s an Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP). We haven’t used nebulizers in the ED since last April except in specific highly controlled circumstances in negative pressure rooms. It’s been known since SARS that they are high risk for transmission.
Any staff undertaking or assisting in an AGP must be wearing full PPE (N-95 mask and face shield etc).

I am somewhat surprised that nebulizers are being used in quarantine hotel rooms.

Is it possible that a respiratory compromised person using a nebuliser as ongoing treatment would carry a portable one together with vials and self administer?

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Covid is the topic on National Press Club - on air for the next hour.

 

[jakeseven7]

If the exposure was due to a Nebulizer that’s an Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP). We haven’t used nebulizers in the ED since last April except in specific highly controlled circumstances in negative pressure rooms. It’s been known since SARS that they are high risk for transmission.
Any staff undertaking or assisting in an AGP must be wearing full PPE (N-95 mask and face shield etc).

I am somewhat surprised that nebulizers are being used in quarantine hotel rooms.

World's best practice, we were told.

Before we start throwing rocks at sick people, it reads that the person may have been self administering and possibly did not disclose they were using it.

Unfortunately if you read the release and some of the news, it appears that this person may well be the one now in ICU which of course is tragic but if they were using a neb then perhaps had a contributing condition leaving them more susceptible in the first place. I haven't had time to corroborate this just reading quickly the notes and news and it appears this may be the case.

Regardless of who is in ICU, best wishes to them and their family and hope they recover.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Is it possible that a respiratory compromised person using a nebuliser as ongoing treatment would carry a portable one together with vials and self administer?

Definitely possible as well as CPAP etc. All are very high risk devices for spreading aerosols and I would have thought that robust hotel quarantine systems would have health and safety procedures for their use.