St Kilda man tests positive to Covid-19, refuses hotel quarantine order over pet cats

A St Kilda man who tested positive to Covid-19 has refused to go into hotel quarantine, saying he cannot leave behind his two house cats.

Marcus tested positive on Sunday and said he was then contacted by the Department of Health, who told him he needed to go into hotel quarantine as he lived in an apartment complex.

But when he refused, he said he was told if he didn’t comply with the order he would be “removed by force”.

“I have a couple of cats that I own, one of which is old and very sick, and I don’t have anywhere readily available to take them to be looked after,” he told 3AW on Wednesday.

He said taking his two ten-year-old cats to a pet boarding facility was not an option, either.

“My cats aren’t vaccinated, so they can’t go to a cat hotel,” he said.

“Because we were in lockdown, I haven’t been able to get them to the vet. Normally they would be vaccinated.”

Marcus argued he should be able to recover from Covid-19 inside his own home.

“I’m following all the rules, I’m taking lockdown very seriously; checking in wherever I go, wearing a mask and only leaving the house when I absolutely need to,” he said.

“I still got infected and they (Department of Health) still believe I shouldn’t recover in my own house.”

Marcus said he had felt “absolutely terrible” following his positive diagnosis of Covid-19, but said he was feeling better on Wednesday.

The Department of Health has been contacted for comment.