Covid-infected Sydney removalists who sparked Victoria’s fifth lockdown WON’T be punished
- 3 Sydney removalists are unlikely to face charges after sparking Covid outbreak
- Workers delivered furniture to Maribyrong’s Apartments before travelling to SA
- Men were found to have broken no rules except for one man not wearing a mask
- Vic enters 5th lockdowns after four complex residents tested positive to Covid
- Comes as an Echuca pub owner was fined $22,000 for opening during lockdown
Three Sydney removalists who sparked a Covid outbreak in Melbourne that sent Victoria into its fifth lockdown are unlikely to face any charges.
The workers travelled from Sydney’s Covid-ravaged western suburbs to Melbourne to deliver furniture at multiple locations, before travelling to South Australia.
The men were accused of not wearing masks and being in breach of their working permit conditions.
However the Herald Sun has revealed police are set to close the case without punishing the removalists.
The Covid-infected Sydney removalists were found to have not broken any rules after delivering furniture to the Maribyong Apartment Complex
This graphic outlines the route the Sydney removalists took during their work trip
The workers were found to have not broken any rules, except for one man who could be fined $1,000 for not wearing a mask.
They all had the appropriate permits to enter the state despite the Harbour City’s spiralling number of Covid cases which has now surpassed 1,500 cases.
Victoria Covid-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said the removalists were not wearing masks as exemptions are granted for strenuous activities like carrying furniture.
As a result, numerous residents were infected with the virus at Ariele Apartments in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, sending the entire building and its 200 residents into quarantine for 14 days.
It comes as a pub owner in remote Echuca, in northern Victoria near the NSW border, was fined more than $22,000 for opening his hotel against lockdown rules.
Publican Trevor Andrews was fined $22,000 after keeping his Echuca pub open during lockdown
Trevor Andrews of the Pastoral Hotel Echuca had been opening to patrons for three days, serving meals and drinks in defiance of lockdown rules.
The publican was warned and later fined twice before local police arrested him.
‘We’re taking it very seriously because he has just been deliberately and blatantly breaching the CHO (Chief Health Officer) directions,’ Mr Patton told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
‘Common sense has not prevailed.’
The police commissioner said he had been bailed with specific conditions, and faced the prospect of jail if he reopened again.
‘We would probably be asking for him to be remanded. It’s nonsense what he’s doing,’ he said.
Mr Patton said the stunt had ended up costing the community more than $100,000, with another 47 staff and guests inside the hotel also slapped with fines.
The opposition’s police spokesman David Southwick questioned why a publican hundreds of kilometres from known outbreaks had been fined while the removalists were yet to face any punishment.
‘Victorians expect these rules are enforced fairly and consistently,’ he said.