A coronial inquest into the deaths of 50 residents at St Basil’s aged care facility in Victoria resumed with testimony from the home’s two most senior managers, Konstantin Kontis and Vicky Kos. The deaths occurred during July and August 2020, representing approximately a quarter of the 188 residents at the facility operated by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.
Kontis, who served as board chair, testified that he approved the facility’s Covid-19 management policy without formal board authorization, believing he possessed delegated authority to do so. Under questioning, he acknowledged that no such delegation existed for approving such a significant document. The policy contained limited guidance on close contacts of infected individuals and relied primarily on government directives printed and placed in a yellow folder for staff reference. The policy was never updated as new government guidance emerged. When testing of residents and staff on 15 July 2020 revealed 28 positive cases, Kontis did not convene board meetings, instead communicating directly with the archbishop. Counsel assisting the coroner questioned why Kontis failed to attend critical meetings organized by senior management and health officials after the outbreak became significant, particularly regarding a directive to stand down the entire workforce. Kontis stated he disagreed with the directive and did not attend the meetings, though he said he was informed of outcomes afterward.
Kos, the director of nursing and facility manager, testified that key documents including a cohort plan for separating infected and uninfected residents were placed in the yellow folder. A subsequent search of electronic and physical repositories, including files previously seized by Victoria Police, did not locate such a plan. Kos stated she did not complete the required step of alerting the commonwealth department of health within 30 minutes of identifying the first staff case on 9 July 2020, instead relying on contact with the state public health hotline. This delay meant mass testing of residents and staff did not occur for several days.
Kos testified that 95 percent of the original staff had English as a second language and most lacked computer access, making it difficult for them to stay informed of complex Covid information shared through printed signs and shift handovers. Throughout her testimony, Kos frequently stated she could not remember details of events from six years prior. Both managers initially refused to testify and only did so after receiving a coroner’s certificate, which protects their evidence from use in criminal or civil proceedings. Family members of deceased residents attended the inquest, with one family member expressing that families retained clear memories of the events despite the passage of time. The inquest is scheduled to resume on 16 November.
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