Residents of an apartment building forced into lockdown after being exposed to COVID-positive removalists from Sydney have been told to restart their quarantine as new cases emerged.
Health authorities broke the news in a video-conference at the Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong on Wednesday afternoon – almost two days after residents of the 78 apartments started their 14-day quarantine.
When Terry Pattinson heard, he was devastated. “I live by myself so it’s been quite a struggle,” he said.
“It’s pretty bad”: Chandler Baddeley is in lockdown at the Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong.Credit:Jason South
Mr Pattinson said he would like to see more security on the floors to ensure tenants were not leaving their rooms and potentially infecting more residents.
He was also concerned about communications issues among residents not on the call with state COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar.
“If you hadn’t been on the call with Jeroen, you might not have been aware of the reset,” he said.
On the call, residents were told their 14-day isolation would reset after four positive cases were identified on the third floor of the complex. Instead of being two days into their isolation, Wednesday would now be day one.
The department has identified 123 residents and 11 visitors of Ariele Apartments as primary close contacts.
Third-floor resident Gabriel Ssemakula had not heard about the isolation change until contacted by The Age.
“That’s really disturbing,” he said. “They didn’t communicate that. I don’t know why they don’t send text messages or emails to everyone. If they’re not delivering it straight to residents, how are we supposed to know?”
He said the Health Department had not told people which third-floor residents had tested positive.
The department on Tuesday distributed a flyer to residents with a contact number for a concierge service to co-ordinate the delivery of food parcels and mail. But when residents called, they realised the number was wrong. The Health Department has apologised.
A retail employee who works near the Aldi in Maribyrnong named as an exposure site said the Health Department had not visited his store.
The employee, who did not want to be named, said he was eagerly awaiting Thursday’s case numbers and hoping the outbreak had not spread.
On Wednesday Health Department staff were seen constructing what looked like a testing station just outside the lobby of the locked-down apartment building. Department staff occasionally emerged, leading dogs out of the building and taking them on short walks. Deliveries from supermarkets had started to arrive.
Amanul Shume agreed with the communications concerns voiced by fellow residents, saying despite the people on site doing a great job, he did not feel he had enough information in the first few days of lockdown.
“The 2pm briefing was really, really helpful. Before then I didn’t know what was going on,” he said.
He said he found out about the four new cases in the complex from a neighbour, who told him when they were both out on their balconies.
“It’s pretty bad,” said Chandler Baddeley, who lives on the top floor. He was not sure if authorities had stationed security or police on floors, or were conducting patrols ensuring residents abided by the lockdown, because he had not opened his door to check, having being told to keep it shut. “Knowing that everyone is in their rooms and isolated makes me feel OK,” he said.
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David Estcourt is a court and general news reporter at The Age.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijAFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL3F1YXJhbnRpbmUtcGVyaW9kLXJlc2V0LWZvci1tZWxib3VybmUtYXBhcnRtZW50LWJsb2NrLWF0LWNlbnRyZS1vZi1vdXRicmVhay0yMDIxMDcxNC1wNTg5cHUuaHRtbNIBjAFodHRwczovL2FtcC50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL3F1YXJhbnRpbmUtcGVyaW9kLXJlc2V0LWZvci1tZWxib3VybmUtYXBhcnRtZW50LWJsb2NrLWF0LWNlbnRyZS1vZi1vdXRicmVhay0yMDIxMDcxNC1wNTg5cHUuaHRtbA?oc=5
2021-07-14 09:27:09Z
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