Refugees ‘panicking’ after asylum seeker hotel guard gets COVID – The New Daily

Refugee groups have reacted angrily to news that a guard at a Melbourne hotel housing asylum seekers has contracted COVID-19, saying their warnings about virus issues in the accommodation have been ignored.
A staff member at the Mantra Bell City complex in Preston has tested positive for the virus.
Several dozen refugees are being held at the hotel, after being medically evacuated to Australian from Manus Island and Nauru.
Occupants and refugee advocates have warned for months about the risk of COVID spread at the hotel, claiming physical distancing is difficult in the complex and the occupants are not being provided appropriate medical care.
Cleaners inside the Mantra hotel a picture tweeted by refugee Mostafa Azimitabar. Photo: Supplied
The Department of Home Affairs said the man, believed to be a guard, was diagnosed with COVID on July 8. He had not worked at the hotel since July 4, before he had developed symptoms.
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said on Monday the refugees were a “significantly vulnerable population” and there had been “a significant clean of that facility.”
The infected staff member had limited interaction with detainees, and the risk to occupants has been deemed low by Victorian health authorities. But refugee groups worry the virus might spread quickly within the building.
“Workers in hazmat suits have been cleaning the third floor where refugees are imprisoned but refugees themselves still do not have adequate

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