New Bundaberg exposure sites include aged care, cemetery, RSPCA

The highly transmissible Omicron strain linked to the cluster that originated at Bundaberg’s Club Hotel and Central Hotel as case numbers continue to rise, with a cemetery and the RSPCA added to the list of exposure sites.

Blue Care Bundaberg Pioneer Aged Care Facility in Avenell Heights has gone into lockdown following a surge of cases in the region that includes one of the city’s cemeteries as an exposure site.

Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS) today confirmed the Omicron variant has been detected in most of the region’s Covid cases.

“The vast majority of local cases in the Wide Bay will be linked to the Omicron variant and all cases that can be traced back to the Bundaberg nightclub/pub cluster are Omicron,” a Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service spokesman said.

The Wide Bay recorded 14 new cases overnight, according to the State Government’s latest figures, with 231 patients being treated for the virus by the Wide Bay Health Service.

One of these patients is in Bundaberg Hospital, and the service said the majority were from the Bundaberg region.

The growing case numbers follow claims of more exposure sites across Bundaberg although the source for the bulk of known infections still remains a mystery.

Queensland Health data shows the source of infection of 169 of Bundaberg’s 196 total cases are still under investigation.

A community-run contact tracing page has been set up as the Wide Bay continues see rises in Covid case numbers.

A community-run contact tracing page has been set up as the Wide Bay continues see rises in Covid case numbers.

As cases continue to soar, Bundaberg residents have begun crowdsourcing Covid exposure sites on social media for community members to share information on businesses affected by a positive Covid case.

The latest post on the Bundaberg and Wide Bay Hotspots page named the cemetery at Takalvan Street as one of the newest exposure sites from December 28.

RSPCA Bundaberg has been added to the list, with exposure reportedly happening on December 30.

Other exposure site include the Young Australian Hotel in Bundaberg North; a staff member working a function on December 21 tested positive three days later on Friday, December 24.

It is believed more than 100 people attended the function.

Other spots not listed on Queensland Health’s page include City Fit Gym – Bundaberg, Sugarland Animal Hospital, YMCA Gym – Bundaberg, Woolworths – Bundaberg (Hinkler), Brothers Sports Club – Bundaberg and YMCA Childcare – Bundaberg, Aldi – Maryborough Street Bundaberg and Bundaberg Base Hospital Emergency.

The community-run contact tracing page has come after residents took to social media to air frustrations about “poor” contact tracing efforts, claiming they are being left in the dark about potential spread of the virus.

The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service and Queensland Health announced they were only sharing exposure sites of “significant” risk on the contact tracing website.

Visitors to Mon Repos are among those forced to learn about possible Covid exposure the hard way.

“I went to take my daughter to the turtle centre today and it was closed with a big sign saying closed because of positive Covid case,” a Facebook user said.

Mon Repos has not been listed on the contact tracing website.

Bundaberg Rum Distillery and Visitor Centre.

Queensland Health are urging those who visited the Public Bar of the Grand Hotel, Gayndah, on December 23 from 6pm to 7pm and the Bundaberg Rum Visitor Centre, Bundaberg, on December 26 from 10am to 11.30am to get tested.

Businesses have described QR codes as a “lost cause” after asking people to check-in just in case a Covid case emerged.

Bre Powell, owner of The Wax Pot Boutique on Woongarra Street said she was one of these businesses, telling Seven News Wide Bay early in the week that her business will not be listed on the contact tracing website even though three of her staff tested positive.

“There’s going to be a certain point where there’s too much out there, everybody’s going to be on that list,” she said.

“I asked Queensland Health when will our clients be contacted, they said they won’t be.

“What’s the point of QR codes?”

The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service responded to the backlash about contact tracing from the community on Facebook.

It said it will only post exposure sites online if they are of significant risk to the community.

“The number of positives means our public health team is currently focused on high risk contacts such as people in the same household, any vulnerable people in close contact such as the elderly or anyone in prolonged contact with the positive case,” the post said.

“They are not contact tracing low risk exposures and you will not find locations on the website unless there is a high risk of general public exposure.”

The health service was not the only government body to draw ire on social media.

Bundaberg Regional Council came under fire from another Facebook user who asked why the council “put on their website all of the places that have been affected”.

“It would make it so much easier for all to get the correct info.”

Patricia Brown said she asked local member, Tom Smith, for information on contact tracing on social media but was blocked instead of receiving an answer.

“Funny that Tom Smith Labor MP for Bundaberg blocked me, because I commented on his page and said ‘What’s the point of QR code check in IF a business has to contact customers (and how the heck would they know) if they have had a person in their store that was infected’,” she said.

“I also said is the QR tracing in tatters [?].”

Mr Smith had responded to several Facebook users Tuesday, and shared on his own page the health service’s statement about its contact tracing focus.

WBHHS set up two small vaccine clinics at Bundaberg and Hervey Bay TAFE’s between 8am and 4pm from Wednesday December 29, after vaccine clinics were due to close throughout the Christmas break until January 4.