Deputy Premier Steven Miles and Dr Jeannette Young provide update on Covid-19 cases

Deputy Premier Steven Miles has announced that a new case of Covid has been in the community in southeast Queensland. That case has been identified as the source of a Qantas flight attendant’s Delta infection.

A new case of Covid-19 in the southeast Queensland community has been identified as the source of the Qantas flight attendant’s Delta infection.

Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said a man who illegally travelled from Sydney to Ballina was given an incorrect negative Covid result by a private NSW testing laboratory.

She said he then flew to Ballina where he was picked up from the airport by the Qantas flight attendant who tested positive to the Delta variant earlier in the week.

“A case detected in New South Wales travelled into Queensland while infectious on the 14th of July,” she said.

“That person is a close contact, and I believe, is the index case for our Qantas flight crew member we identified on the 25th July.

“It is clear now those two people have been out and about in Brisbane and the Gold Coast since the 14th of July.”

Dr Young said the flight attendant – a woman in her 30s from Banyo – was legally allowed to cross the border to Ballina at the time, but the man was not supposed to have left Sydney.

Health directions state anyone who has deemed to be a close contact needed to isolate for 14 days, regardless of their test result.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young. Picture: John Gass

She said the flight attendant caught Covid from her passenger, who Dr Young said, had since been identified as a close contact to another person in Sydney with a confirmed case of the coronavirus.

“We became aware of him because he was a close contact of the flight attendant,” she said.

“She picked up that passenger on Friday from Ballina airport and drove to Queensland.

“The first we knew he was a concern was late yesterday.”

The CHO said Queensland Health only found out late Saturday there had been an error made by a NSW lab with regards to the negative test results the man had been sent.

Dr Young said government officials were still trying to clarify the confusing situation.

“There appears to be a lab error in the testing result, that they were negative,’ she said.

“I understand subsequent testing of the sample came back positive … This gentleman was a close contact of a known case in Sydney.

“He came back positive on the 12th of July, but due to an error in that private lab, he was sent a text message saying he was negative.

“That (negative result) was irrelevant as he should have been in quarantine for 14 days either way.”

Deputy Premier Steven Miles. Picture: Dan Peled

Dr Young said the flight attendant and the man spent time in Brisbane and the Gold Coast while they were infections, but that Queensland Health were still working on identifying all of the areas they visited.

She urged anyone with even mild symptoms to get tested for the coronavirus.

“If anyone has symptoms it is critical to get tested as I’m not sure where those two have been during their infectious periods,” she said.

The flight attendant sparked fears of a mass Covid outbreak after it was revealed on Friday she had travelled to almost a dozen destinations throughout Queensland while infectious with the Delta strain, which has wreaked havoc in southern states.

Thousands of tests were then carried out on Friday in Longreach, Gladstone, Hervey Bay, Banyo and the Gold Coast as officers from Queensland Health worked on tracing the woman’s movements between becoming infectious on July 11 and being tested on Wednesday – eight days after she started showing symptoms.

The crew member worked on a 74 seat Dash-8 Q400 series plane owned by Qantas. Picture: Supplied

Dr Young said since they had identified the missing link in the woman’s infection, those who flew on any of six flights into regional Queensland on July 12 and 13 were no longer of concern.

The flight attendant is understood to have worked on QantasLink flights QF2534 and QF2535.

“Those in quarantine are now able to leave quarantine,” Dr Young said.

“But the risk across all of Queensland stands.”

She encouraged Queenslanders to continue to wear masks, stay home if sick and get immediately get a Covid test, tested if even experiencing only mild symptoms.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles warned that Queensland should expect more cases in coming days.

“Both positive cases were active in and around Brisbane and the Gold Coast,” he said

“More exposure sites have been identified and put on the Queensland Health website.

“It underlines that the risk in Brisbane and the Gold Coast in particular remains very, very real.

“Wearing of masks remains important.”

TIMELINE

July 10: Sydney man notified he is a close contact of a positive case at his workplace, must get tested and self-isolate for 14 days until July 24.

July 12: Sydney man gets Covid test from private pathologist, he is positive but wrongly is given a negative result/notification.

July 14: Sydney man leaves hotspot and travels on 11.45am Virgin flight 1139 from Sydney to Ballina.

Qantas flight attendant drives from Banyo, Brisbane to Ballina airport and collects him, and then drives back to Brisbane.

July 15: NSW Health contacted him to remind him he is a close contact from July 10 and should still be in isolation.

July 20: NSW Health became aware from subsequent testing that he was wrongly informed of a negative result and has been positive since at least July 12.

July 21: Qantas flight attendant is tested and returns positive result, QLD Health identify Sydney man as close contact and Qld Police locate him and place him into hotel quarantine.

July 24: Sydney man returns positive test result in hotel quarantine late Saturday, It is the first time QLD Health are aware of his movement since July 12 after contacting NSW Health.