New case pushes Portuguese restaurant outbreak to 20

Queensland confirmed a new case of Covid-19 on Sunday afternoon, with the Portuguese restaurant outbreak growing to 20 and Annastacia Palaszczuk warning lockdowns cannot yet be considered a last resort.

Queensland’s Portuguese restaurant Covid-19 outbreak has swelled to 20 cases as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned the state has a long way to go before lockdowns can be ruled out.

Two new locally acquired infections have both been linked to the Portuguese Family Centre cluster, which began more than a fortnight ago after a female flight attendant caught the Alpha variant while in hotel quarantine and spread it to the restaurant.

One of the cases is a woman who went into quarantine on July 2 and is a close contact of the Covid-19 positive Carindale mum and daughter identified last week.

A man, whose case was under investigation, was late today added to the restaurant cluster.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has also confirmed a Prince Charles Hospital worker, believed to be connected to the facility’s medical imaging department and who tested positive at the weekend, has the Alpha variant.

She worked a shift at the hospital on June 30 while unknowingly infectious with the virus.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk listens to Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young at a media conference on Sunday morning. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Dr Young said genomic sequencing had linked the hospital worker to the outbreak at the Portuguese restaurant in Ellen Grove, on Brisbane’s southwestern outskirts.

“We just need to work through how that worker got it,” Dr Young said.

That case is the second Covid-19 virus infection to emerge from the Prince Charles Hospital in less than a week.

Last week, a 19-year-old casual administration officer at the hospital, who worked outside the Covid-19 ward, also tested positive to the virus, but she has the more contagious Delta variant.

Her case triggered a lockdown of the state’s southeast, Townsville, Magnetic Island and Palm Island, which has since been lifted.

Genome sequencing has linked the teenager’s infection to a patient in the ward and an investigation has been launched into why the receptionist had not received a Covid-19 vaccination despite working so close to Covid-19 cases.

But health authorities are unsure whether the second Prince Charles worker’s infection can be traced to one of the Portuguese restaurant cases being cared for in the hospital’s Covid ward or whether there is another link.

Dr Young said the worker had not been in the Covid ward but contact tracers were working through which sections of the hospital she had visited.

Despite the ongoing Portuguese restaurant Alpha variant cluster, she said four Delta outbreaks – one linked to the Prince Charles Hospital, the NT Granites gold mine cluster, a couple working at the Brisbane Airport and another tied to a Virgin flight crew member — appeared to be “relatively under control”.

“It is reassuring that we just have that one outbreak that we need to closely manage,” Dr Young said.

“We’ve managed Alpha outbreaks very effectively before. We can continue to manage this one.”

The Portuguese Family Centre at Ellen Grove has become the epicentre of a Covid-19 outbreak that has grown to 20 cases. Picture: David Clark

She urged people in Southeast Queensland, Townsville, Magnetic Island and Palm Island to continue wearing their masks for the next 12 days and to follow other mandated public health restrictions.

“It’s when we know that we’ve got the virus out in our community, that’s when you need to wear a mask,” Dr Young said.

Despite the state’s lockdowns being lifted at the weekend, Ms Palaszczuk said they would not become a last resort option until “everyone’s had the opportunity to get the vaccine”.

“We’re not at that stage yet,” she said.

“We need every Australian to be offered the vaccine and once we get to that threshold then, of course, I think you’ll see very minimal need for it. But we’re a long way from that, a lot of modelling needs to happen as well.”

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath warned Queensland businesses they only had until July 9 to register for the state government’s check-in app before it becomes mandatory.

“Please do it today,” Ms D’Ath said. “Don’t wait because this helps us make sure that we can keep our community safe.”

Dr Young also called on people who had received their initial Pfizer dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to ensure they had a second shot within 42 days for optimal effectiveness.

“That is critical,” she said.

Queenslanders needing a second Pfizer shot can phone 134 Covid to book an appointment or walk into a clinic offering Pfizer vaccines.

Ms Palaszczuk said she would update Queenslanders tomorrow on the state’s supply of Pfizer shots.