The Victorian opposition has called for the head of the state's hotel quarantine program to resign, following more reports of infection control breaches within the program.
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Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien on Thursday called for Emma Cassar, the head of COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria (CQV), to resign from her position.
"I have no confidence in Emma Cassar and I don't think any Victorian can have confidence in Emma Cassar," he told reporters outside parliament.
"She's more interested in acting as a spin doctor and protecting the Labor government than she is in actually delivering safe outcomes."
Mr O'Brien's comments come after it was revealed two senior public servants have been stood down from the program after they reportedly committed multiple compliance breaches.
Matiu Bush, general manager of infection prevention and control at CQV, was stood down on Wednesday pending an investigation, after refusing to undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test following a visit to a quarantine hotel.
Bush, who has been involved in the program since June, also failed to change masks and sanitise at another hotel after stepping out to get a coffee, according to reports in The Australian
On Thursday, The Age revealed another public servant was removed from the program.
The person worked as a manager at the Novotel at Melbourne Central, where there were reportedly 51 incident reports in the first month of operations.
Fifteen of the incidents were related to infection control breaches.
AAP understands the manager was seconded from the Department of Health to work for CQV and has since returned to their role.
The minister responsible for hotel quarantine, Danny Pearson, said the incidents were proof the culture of "active reporting" within the program was working.
"It's got to be about continuous improvement, it's got to be about having honest conversations. We've got to get the culture right," he said.
Mr Pearson said he would not sack Ms Cassar.
"Ms Cassar is an outstanding public servant, she's working tirelessly and she's doing a fantastic job," he said.
Acting Premier James Merlino agreed, telling reporters Ms Cassar was "doing an incredible job".
"We've got very strict protocols in place. Any breach, any mistake, anyone doing the wrong thing, it's immediately reported and actioned."
Ms Cassar, who is also the commissioner of Corrections Victoria, has been in charge of hotel quarantine since it was overhauled in December.
The state's second wave of coronavirus, last year resulted in more than 18,000 new infections, 800 deaths and an 112-day lockdown, leaked from hotel quarantine.
The program was again revamped in April, after hotel quarantine workers contracted the UK COVID-19 strain from returned travellers in February, triggering a statewide five-day lockdown.
Australian Associated Press
