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A security guard became suspicious two German-Australian travellers had breached quarantine after noticing them ‘looking lost’ at the airport.
Claudio Cominotto was working at Melbourne Airport on Saturday afternoon when he saw a 53-year-old woman and her 15-year-old son disoriented, standing near the Skybus stand.
When he asked if they needed help with directions, their response prompted him to immediately call his Wilson security duty manager Peter Mikha.
Security guard Claudio Cominotto (pictured) has been hailed a hero after discovering a hotel quarantine breach at Melbourne Airport on Saturday afternoon
When he asked if they needed help with directions, their response prompted him to immediately call his Wilson security duty manager Peter Mikha
‘He said to me, “hey, Peter, I’ve got two German nationals looking to quarantine, where do we send them?” ‘Mr Mikha told the Age.
‘I said to him straight away, “just don’t send them anywhere, hold them for a minute, I need to confirm what’s going on”. I thought if they haven’t quarantined, then this is a big problem.
‘I was a bit shocked because I thought, that it was impossible.’
The pair had arrived in Sydney on Saturday from Tokyo before boarding Virgin Airways flight VA838 to Melbourne.
A NSW Police officer had mistakenly believed they had a hotel quarantine exemption and failed to thoroughly check their paperwork, instead directing them to the domestic terminal.
After Mr Cominotto discovered they had skipped 14 day mandatory isolation, the two travellers were escorted to another terminal to speak with health officials before being placed in the state’s new revamped hotel quarantine program.
A 53-year-old woman and her 15-year-old son arrived in Sydney airport from Tokyo but were wrongly redirected to the domestic terminal, rather than hotel quarantine, to board a Virgin flight to Melbourne
Mr Mikha said they were not trying to evade quarantine and were actively seeking directives to enter the program.
More than 170 passengers and crew, as well as a handful of airport staff – including Mr Cominotto- were considered contacts and were forced to self-isolate.
The German-Australian dual citizens tested negative to Covid-19 on Saturday.
They were retested on Monday and again returned a negative result, prompting health authorities to release their contacts from isolation.
However, the international travellers, who have shown no symptoms, will remain in hotel quarantine for the mandatory 14-day period and be tested again on day 11.
Meanwhile, the quick-thinking security guards who discovered the blunder have been hailed heroes for averting a potential disaster, just months after Victoria’s horror second wave of Covid-19.
The pair’s efforts have been praised by Premier Dan Andrews, Health Minister Martin Foley and Wilson Security chief executive officer Nick Frangoulis.
More than 170 passengers and crew, as well as a handful of airport staff – including Mr Cominotto- were forced to self isolate due to the bungle (stock of passengers at Melbourne airport)
But Mr Cominotto said his response was just part of a day’s work.
‘I was just at the right place at the right time and doing my job,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Even though we seem to be past the worst of it, it’s so important for us to remain vigilant.’
‘At the end of the day, I was doing my part in keeping everyone safe.’
Melbourne Airport’s head of aviation Shane O’Hare believes the incident would be almost impossible in Victoria.
‘The chances of this happening at Melbourne Airport are extremely, extremely low,’ he said.
‘After you get your bags and you’re cleared you actually go back out literally onto the tarmac, get onto a bus and then you’re driven out through the security area of the airport itself.’
NSW Police has accepted responsibility for the bungle.
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