Covid-19 case reported in Emerald, first in town’s history

A Covid-19 case has been reported on Tuesday morning in Emerald, among 86 new cases in the state. Read here for the latest information on the case and where the person travelled from.

A person who tested positive to COVID-19 spent a short time in Emerald while travelling on Monday, December 20, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service has confirmed.

The person was travelling from North Queensland to Darling Downs.

Contact tracing has identified four close contacts in Emerald who are now in home quarantine.

They have all been double vaccinated, meaning they will only need to quarantine for seven days.

CQ Public Health Unit’s investigation has determined there is a low risk of community transmission in Emerald as there was minimal exposure sites in town.

Contract tracing exposure sites are updated on the Queensland Health website.

The case is the first to be detected in the town throughout the entire pandemic.

“All Central Queenslanders, no matter where you live, should be tested immediately if you have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild,” the CQHHS statement read.

Covid-19 testing is available in Emerald at the QML Pathology and Emerald Medical Clinic on Pilot Farm Road.

The Emerald case was announced in Tuesday morning’s press conference by Chief health officer John Gerrard.

Queensland has recorded 86 new cases of Covid overnight, including 79 that have been locally acquired.

Six of the new cases have been linked to the interstate arrivals.

There are 269 active cases in Queensland, 61 of which are confirmed cases of the new strain, Omicron.

“The vast majority of our patients have minimal symptoms. We have one patient who has been placed in an intensive care unit as a precaution,” Dr Gerrard said.

“Of the 86 reported cases in the last 24 hours, 67 are under investigation, one was overseas acquired, six are linked to interstate travel and 12 are contacts of known cases.

“As before, the locations are very widespread. I have one new location to mention, that is Central Queensland in the town of Emerald.

“That is the first report from Emerald now we’ve seen in Queensland. You can assume this virus is widespread across Queensland.”

Fully vaccinated close contacts are required to quarantine for seven days from Wednesday and need to get a Covid test on day zero and five.

While Central Queensland has had a total of 48 Covid-19 cases, it is the first time Emerald has had a Covid case.

The closest suspected case in the region was recorded in May 2020 when it was announced that a deceased man Blackwater man, Nathan Turner, had Covid-19, sparking nationwide news.

On May 27, a post-mortem test returned positive for Covid-19 however on June 1, a second test returned negative.

In the days in between, testing clinics were set up at Blackwater with more than 500 patients getting tested and a number of contacts were sent into home quarantine.

As of December 20, 74.1 per cent of the Central Highlands local government area has been fully vaccinated and 82.5 per cent have had their first dose.