Emergency health powers extended as quarantined team leaves Brisbane

Emergency powers granted to Queensland's most senior health officer to try to contain the spread of coronavirus has been extended, with Parliament passing urgent amendments to the law on Thursday.

The changes mean chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young can be granted emergency powers for three months at a time, instead of having to have them renewed every seven days.

Under the powers, the Chief Health Officer can order a person to be detained under quarantine against their will and can prevent people from going to certain locations. She can use reasonable force to compel an individual when a direction is not followed, which can include forcing someone to be medically tested against their will.

Health Minister Steven Miles thanked Parliament for rushing through the amendments, saying they were needed to ensure the official response to the disease could continue uninterrupted.

"The amendments proposed in this bill will allow our hardworking [health] officers to manage and contain the threat of novel coronavirus, without the uncertainty that would come with weekly extensions of the emergency powers" Mr Miles said.

The opposition supported the amendments, with LNP health spokesperson Ros Bates saying they would not "play politics" with a major disease outbreak.

"Given these circumstances, and the limited and very technical nature of these amendments, it seems these changes are justified," she said.

The granting of those powers comes as the Chinese women’s football team was given the all-clear to leave a Brisbane hotel where they have been isolated for two weeks over coronavirus concerns.

The 32 Chinese players and staff had been isolated in a Brisbane CBD hotel since their arrival, because they had been training in the city of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated.

Mr Miles thanked the team for their patience and co-operation with authorities during their isolation.

“We realise it’s been a major disruption to their preparation but also a difficult time for each member personally,” Mr Miles said.

The Chinese national women's football team has now left the Westin Brisbane hotel.Credit: Julien Mattia

Four people have been confirmed as having coronavirus in Queensland, all of them members of a tour group that has been isolated in Gold Coast University Hospital.

The latest person to test positive is a 37-year-old man, with Mr Miles confirming he was in the same tour group as a 44-year-old man, a 42-year-old woman and an eight-year-old boy.

“He is receiving excellent care at the Gold Coast University Hospital. The rest of that group remain in quarantine there as a precaution,” Mr Miles said.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young urges all potential coronavirus carriers to submit to medical testing immediately.Credit: AAP

'Jobs at risk' over virus outbreak

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the ongoing fallout of the coronavirus outbreak had started to be felt by many businesses, expecially in the tourism sector.

Ms Palaszczuk again called on the federal government to activate disaster payments, saying jobs would start to be lost in the near future if more was not done to mitigate the impact of the disease.

“Farmers, fishers, tourism operators and universities all told of lost business impacting now - there are trawlers unable to fish, because the market for coral trout and premium mud crab has evaporated overnight,” she said.

“On the Gold Coast, losses to tourism operators are estimated at between $130 million and $400 million.

“The top-10 operators report a 15 to 20 per cent drop in trade. This affects 3500 businesses and 42,000 jobs.”

The Premier announced on Thursday that Australia Zoo's Robert Irwin, the son of Steve Irwin, would head up an advertising campaign to encourage domestic tourism in the aftermath of the virus outbreak.

“We need to tell Australians that Queensland remains open for business and we need to encourage them to spend their tourist dollars in our great state,” the Premier said.

“My government – despite a lack of help from the federal government – is doing everything possible to ensure the economic impact on our iconic industry is minimal.”

Prime Ministeer Scott Morrison said he expected the economy to take a hit by coronavirus in coming months.

"How much more it extends beyond that really does depend on how this virus continues to play out at a global level," he said.

Queensland's Economic Functional Recovery Group will meet on Thursday to discuss assistance measures which could range from possible tax and fee relief to storing surplus seafood intended for export markets.

Ms Palaszczuk also wants federal funding to cover the cost of promoting Queensland as a destination to people in Singapore, Japan and the US.

The virus has infected about 25,000 people worldwide, and killed about 500 people, almost all of them in China.

By Thursday Australia had 14 confirmed cases: four in NSW, four in Victoria, four in Queensland and two in South Australia.