Broome taxi driver’s concern over mixed messages in Divers Tavern COVID case response

The owner of a taxi company which drove a COVID infected man through the streets of Broome says he’s been “extremely disappointed” by a lack of transparency around the case, and that it had hurt local business. Broome Private Taxis owner Paul Rewell was called to the Broome Heliport at around 10.45am on Thursday, December 30 for what he thought a routine job — taking a maxi taxi full of thirsty offshore workers to Divers Tavern. Seven days after the job, Mr Rewell received a call from WA Health to advise him one of the men in the group had tested positive for COVID in Queensland, and he was considered a close contact. In the hour following, Mr Rewell says he received five calls from WA Health, with three different sets of instructions — to get tested immediately and isolate, to just isolate, and finally that he was no longer considered a close contact. “On the final phone call, they told me ‘thank you so much for being honest and giving us the information, we now believe he must have caught it in Queensland’,” he said. Despite this, the Divers Tavern exposure site remains listed on the WA Health website. It’s a move Mr Rewell, who is double-vaccinated and said he generally supports fostering a COVID safe environment, said had hurt his business and others around town. “Being a business owner in Broome we definitely do not need the public second guessing themselves because of potential restrictions when no COVID exists anyway,” he said. “We noticed a dramatic fall in business that afternoon when the COVID site info was released, which continued over the following days.” The exposure time was initially listed as between 8.30am and 12.30pm on Thursday December 30, however was changed to between 11am and 12.30pm the following day. It was the only exposure site listed in the town, prompting Mining and Pastoral MLC Neil Thomson to question why the airport had not been included. “I think this is a timely reminder for our region of the risks COVID poses, and the processes we still need to refine to handle it when it does come to our shores,” he said. “The transparency around this case has been appalling, first the initial exposure time listed didn’t make sense as the pub only opens at 11am. “And second, how can there only be one exposure site, and how can that be a pub? What about his accommodation, the airport, any shops he might have visited?” A Department of Health spokesperson said it was most likely the man was never infectious in WA. “However, out of an abundance of caution, WA Health ask those who attended the Divers Tavern at the stated date and time to monitor for symptoms and seek a test if symptoms develop,” they said. “The airport and heliport are not considered public exposure sites as masks are mandatory at these sites, and the case did not report any breaches of PPE while in attendance. “Taxis are not considered public exposure sites because we are able to directly contact the impacted individuals.” In a statement, a spokesperson for Divers Tavern said they were following all relevant health advice and they would remain open.