Health Minister and CHO provide update on Queensland’s latest Covid cases

Queensland has recorded a mystery locally acquired Covid case as contact tracers scramble to track close contacts of a Delta-infected man accused of fleeing Sydney’s lockdown and travelled in the community for seven days.

Queensland has recorded one new Covid case as contact tracers scramble to track close contacts of a Delta-infected man accused of fleeing Sydney’s lockdown and travelled in the community for seven days.

The new case is a fully vaccinated man who travelled from China to Queensland and tested positive to Covid-19 after completing 14 days of hotel quarantine.

The man, in his 40s, tested negative on his hotel quarantine exit test but has since tested positive.

His family is now in quarantine.

Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said how the fully vaccinated man contracted Covid-19 is a mystery.

She said it is unknown if he was infected in China, in hotel quarantine, or perhaps on the Gold Coast where he lives.

“I’m not sure of the acquisition of this case, it could have been in China, it could have been in quarantine or it could have been in the community down in the Gold Coast,” Dr Young said.

“Please keep coming forward (for testing), any symptoms at all, anywhere in Queensland.

“So please, anyone who’s been in the Gold Coast or in Brisbane, since the 13th of July, please look at our website and check and see if you’ve been to any of those exposures sites.”

The man left hotel quarantine on July 12 and started feeling ill on July 13.

One of the contact tracing locations linked to the man is the Goodstart Early Learning Centre in Parkwood.

Dr Young said pick-up time presented the highest risk for someone to have caught the virus from the man.

The children have tested negative.

There are 2134 people currently in home quarantine.

“We immediately put him in isolation after his first test... it should be low risk but look we don’t know, he is fully vaccinated and we still don’t understand how it works,” Dr Young said.

“There are so many unknowns here so we are taking a cautious approach of course as we usually do.”

“He became unwell on the 13th but that could be a totally unrelated illness.”

“We are picking that 13th as the potential start but in actual fact it could have been later, we are just being cautious.”

Dr Young urged everyone over the age of 60 to get vaccinated, the new case was vaccinated in China.

“They are very effective against preventing severe disease and death,” she said.

“Each of us when we are able to should get ourselves vaccinated.

“I will point out the vast majority of people in Queensland have supported us and worked with us... yes, there has been a small minority that have not worked with us and that is disappointing.”

She said it is too early to decide whether she will lift the mask mandate that is due to end on Friday.

A new community vaccination hub will be opened in Townsville in August, ahead of a planned increase in Queensland’s vaccine stocks.

It comes after no new local cases were recorded in Queensland yesterday, but a number of new Covid exposure sites emerged, as new details of the man’s movements came to light.

Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young. Picture: John Gass

They are linked to a flight attendant who tested positive on Friday last week and the accused Sydney lockdown escapee.

Authorities say the man ­ignored orders to quarantine at home after a colleague tested positive to the Delta variant and instead travelled to Queensland in breach of Sydney’s lockdown, before lying about his whereabouts when health staff contacted him with his positive test results.

Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said they have interviewed the flight attendant and are interviewing the male from Sydney today.

“We are focusing on who they have had contact tracing.

“There are potential offences committed by both that we are investigating.”

“The female person has had legal representation.”

Dep Comm Gollschewski said the woman was not forthcoming with all information.

Dr Young said it was believed the man flew from Sydney to Ballina where he was picked up by the Brisbane flight attendant on July 14 and driven to Queensland.

Meanwhile, both Health Minister Yvette D’Ath and Dep Comm Gollschewski have rejected claims the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is staying in a three-bedroom hotel room after returning from Tokyo.

“She is one person that is staying in one of the many rooms being used for hotel quarantine,” Ms D’Ath said.

“There is nothing unique about this arrangement, they are hotel quarantine rooms.”

Queensland Police intercepted 2600 vehicles at the state’s border, refusing entry to nearly 50.