Qld hotel cluster officially over, as state braces for Victoria fallout

While Queensland’s Health Minister has officially declared the state’s Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster is over, a warning has been issued for Queensland travellers returning from Victoria to not get “caught out” if things “deteriorate” further there.

Queensland health authorities are yet to declare Victoria a COVID hotspot.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said officials in Victoria were still determining what variant the latest case in the Garden State was.

Queensland recorded no new COVID cases in the past 24 hours off the back of thousands of tests.

Ms D’Ath called on people in Queensland who had been in any places of interest in Victoria to get tested and to isolate until they received a result.

But she said Queensland was not declaring any part of Victoria a hotspot at this stage or putting any border restrictions in place.

“We won’t be putting any restrictions in place just yet,” she said.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath meets. Picture: Liam Kidston

It came as Ms D’Ath declared that the Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster - which sparked a lock down in Brisbane - was over.

Ms D’Ath said she had received the report into the Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster late yesterday afternoon.

“I expect to be able to make public comments and that report in the next couple of days,” she said.

She said the hotel’s air conditioning had been ruled out as a cause of the cluster and that no deliberate breaches had been identified in the report.

She said strong measures had been put in place, including shift-by-shift testing of workers.

Chief Health Office Jeannette Young said there were three cases in Queensland under further investigation.

She said she thinks two of the cases are most likely persistent shedding of the virus, while the third case is a woman who has likely returned a false positive.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young. Picture: Matt Taylor

Dr Young said she was deeming the infectious period of the latest case in Victoria from January 29. That case has caused Victoria to reinstate strict measures, including mask wearing and other restrictions.

Anyone who has visited a site where the Victorian man also visited is being urged to come forward for testing and to quarantine for 14 days.

Anyone else who has been in Greater Melbourne since January, 29 is also being urged to come forward for testing and to isolate until the result comes back.

Aged care, disability accommodation facilities and hospitals will not be allowed to admit anyone who has been in Greater Melbourne since January 29 - unless it is an end-of-life visit.

“We need to see what transpires over the next 24 to 48 hours,” Dr Young said, as she urged Queenslanders to reconsider their travel to Victoria.

She warned that if the situation deteriorated in Victoria, visitors from the Sunshine State could be “caught” and forced into quarantine.

“I do strongly advise that people in Queensland reconsider their need to travel to Greater Melbourne at this time,” Dr Young said.

“If things do deteriorate in Victoria ... they may be caught and have to then quarantine when they return home to Queensland.”

Dr Young called for a review of hotel quarantine, given the recent breaches across the country and in New Zealand.

“We’ll be able to make our quarantine program stronger and stronger as a result,” she said

She said Queensland had had 66,000 people come through hotel quarantine during the pandemic.

“We’ve had one that’s been a problem, that has led to community transmission,” she said.

“It’s worked extremely well. I just congratulate our hotels. They have done a first-class job.

“The cleaners, all of those people, working in those hotels have done a brilliant job.”