More COVID-19 sewerage fragments discovered across southeast QLD

People with symptoms of COVID-19 in Pimpama, Coombabah, Capalaba, Loganholme, Wynnum, Gibson Island and Luggage Point should get tested, CHO Jeannette Young says.

COVID-19 fragments have been detected in sewage samples at seven southeast locations including two Gold Coast suburbs.

Samples collected this week from wastewater treatment plants reveal viral fragments of SARS-CoV-2 were detected at Gibson Island (South Brisbane), Luggage Point (North Brisbane), Pimpama, Coombabah, Capalaba, Loganholme and Wynnum.

Queensland's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said the wastewater results do not prove there are new cases of COVID-19 in these communities but are an important prompt for symptomatic people in these areas to get tested.

“We are treating these detections with absolute caution, especially considering the Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster,” Dr Young said.

“A positive sewage result means that someone who has been infected was shedding the virus. Infected people can shed viral fragments and that shedding can happen for several weeks after the person is no longer infectious.”

Anyone in these communities who feels unwell is urged to get a COVID-19 test and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.

“If there is a case we are not yet aware of, it is critical we detect it through our testing mechanisms as quickly as possible to contain any potential spread,” Dr Young said.

Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting, and loss of taste or smell.

Earlier today, Dr Young said positive wastewater samples in North Cairns in December were “most likely” explained by a North Cairns man who had tested positive to COVID-19 in September and was believed to still be shedding the virus.