Alarming pictures shows security guards ASLEEP on the job in a coronavirus quarantine hotel - after debacle in Melbourne led to a COVID-19 outbreak
- A guard slept in the hallway of Sydney's InterContinental hotel at 3am on May 15
- Another photo shows a different guard asleep on a chair at another hotel in June
- Guards are believed to be from Australian Concert and Entertainment Security
- Some Melbourne guards are accused of having sex with isolating hotel guests
Photographs have emerged that appear to show security guards sleeping on the job at Sydney quarantine hotels - just days after the Melbourne outbreak was linked to lax security.
Some Melbourne security guards are even accused of having sex with isolating travellers and taking them on covert shopping trips.
The new photos show private security guards appearing to doze off on chairs instead of patrolling the corridors at Sydney hotels in May and June.
Since quarantine measures for returning travellers came into force on March 28, security guards have been hired by state governments to ensure returning travellers can't leave their hotel rooms at hotels across the country.
But security personnel falling asleep on the job could have allowed guests to move in and out of their designated 14-day quarantine zone without being caught.
A guard wearing an Australian Concert and Entertainment Security uniform is seen slumped over in a chair at Sydney's InterContinental hotel at about 3am on May 15 (pictured)
Another shocking photo shows a different ACES guard asleep on a chair (pictured) with his head down at another hotel on June 14
Security guards at Sydney's InterContinental hotel (pictured) were caught sleeping on the job instead of patrolling corridors to ensure returning travellers couldn't sneak out
A guard wearing an Australian Concert and Entertainment Security uniform is seen slumped over in a chair at Sydney's InterContinental hotel at about 3am on May 15, The Australian reports.
It's believed all three guards on the same floor were found asleep when their colleagues arrived early in the morning to take over their shift.
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Another shocking photo shows a different ACES guard asleep on a chair with his head down at another hotel on June 14.
The guard was reportedly manning a stairwell to ensure quarantined guests couldn't leave their rooms.
But due to a 'cold draft,' the man moved his chair into the floor's main hallway before appearing to fall asleep at about 2am.
Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen admitted there had been breaches of physical-distancing measures at the Stamford Plaza hotel (pictured on June 25)
'Sometimes they put two guards in a stairwell and there's big drafts in there and they're doing really long shifts,' one security guard told The Australian.
'So they move themselves off the book position, they readjust themselves and they fall asleep on the job. It's an ongoing issue because we're overworked and underpaid, a bit like nurses, and it's a dog-eat-dog industry.'
There are also reports that one Melbourne guard at a hotel helped smuggle in 'excess alcohol' for travellers, and even allowed a guest to sneak out to see his girlfriend.
It comes after a security guard at a hotel quarantine in Adelaide was sent home for breaching safety protocols.
This map shows the suburbs which will be subject to stay-at-home orders from Wednesday at 11.59pm after a spike in coronavirus cases
SA's Chief Public Health Officer Dr Nicola Spurrier said the guard wasn't wearing a mask while on duty.
Dr Spurrier said a review is now underway into the security agencies providing the services.
'The police have a very, very strong presence and they are overseeing the security guards and that was how it was picked up,' she said.
'It didn't put anybody at risk, but it was just a warning: 'okay, you've been told you have to wear a mask. You're not wearing it. You're out of here'.'
The lapses in security comes after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews acknowledged there were a 'handful' of breaches among staff at the hotels in Melbourne, which may have contributed to the state's recent outbreak.
Travellers are seen being screened at Sydney's Central Station on Thursday (pictured) after arriving from Melbourne - which is currently experiencing a coronavirus outbreak
Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen previously admitted there had been breaches of physical-distancing measures at the Stamford Plaza hotel.
The state recorded 77 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, marking the 16th day of double-digit case numbers in the state.
Many of the new cases are localised in Melbourne's inner north and west, where more than 300,000 residents in ten postcodes and 36 suburbs will remain in lockdown until July 29.
But a large proportion of the state's recent cases have been traced back to infection control breaches by security staff at hotels hosting returned travellers.
Security guards at Melbourne quarantine hotels took returning travellers shopping and on sneaky trips to 7-Eleven.
Whistleblowers revealed how some guards walked hotel guests to busy shopping centres for some retail therapy.
A security guard, named only as Sam, who has spent the past two months working as a quarantine hotel security guard in Melbourne, lifted the lid on the extraordinary breaches.
He said his colleagues would share lifts with groups of travellers, escort them for exercise and then go into the community as normal despite the risk of spreading the virus.
A health worker is seen giving out a coronavirus test in Melbourne on Thursday (pictured) after 36 suburbs were put on lockdown
'On their break, guards were going for a break, and they were going to 7-Eleven, McDonald's, KFC, everywhere, and they were exposing everyone to that,' he told 9News anonymously.
'We were trying to control the virus, but the way they have done everything, I think we were spreading the virus, not controlling the virus.'
The security guard also claims he was told not to take a test for COVID-19 in case he tested positive and wouldn't be able to work and make money.
Mr Andrews has launched an inquiry into the security guards' breaches, which will look into claims staff were sexually active with some of the guests, including those in isolation in the hotels.
Officials are seen screening locals in Melbourne (pictured) after ten postcodes across 36 suburbs were locked down in the city
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