Paul McGirr appears on 7 News Sydney after NSW Health and NSW Police take steps to detain a client, his children and his heavily pregnant wife in hotel quarantine on the basis of views of a doctor who has never even examined the client.
The power to detain arises under section 62 of the Public Health Act 2010 which allows a doctor to make public health orders in relation to specific people, including COVID-19 patients for a number of reasons, including where there is a risk to public health. The order can only be made on reasonable grounds, however the circumstances in this case are peculiar because the doctor who made the order took no steps to consult our client or his family. Indeed he was criticised for leaving his home despite receiving a direction from NSW Health to obtain a test.