Queensland Health tracers work magic to track travellers

Queensland Health authorities have successfully traced 1500 people who have arrived in the state from Melbourne, with hundreds of them now in isolation.

Hundreds of people who entered Queensland have been put into isolation after possibly being exposed to a “highly infectious” strain of COVID-19 in Melbourne.

In a mammoth effort, Queensland Health authorities on Saturday raced to contact all 1500 people who had travelled to the Sunshine State via Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport on February 9.

Queensland Acting chief health officer Sonya Bennett said the 1500 people were contacted and asked to quarantine at their place of residence for 14 days from the time they were last in Greater Melbourne.

“The fact that we have been able to move so quickly to contact these 1500 people means we are in a very positive position to control any potential spread into our community from our country’s latest outbreak,” Dr Bennett said.

Medical staff and patients pictured at a COVID-19 testing site. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Josh Woning.

“The situation in Melbourne is yet another wake-up call for our community, that anything can change at any given moment during a pandemic.

Dr Young said anyone who arrived in Queensland before 1am on Saturday, and had been in Greater Melbourne in the last 14 days, must immediately get tested and isolate while waiting for results.

Dr Bennett on Friday revealed the travellers were “scattered around the state” and would be required to isolate at home.

Despite the risk, Queensland recorded no new community COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to Saturday morning.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed the state recorded two new cases of COVID-19, both overseas acquired and detected in hotel quarantine.

She revealed 7597 tests were undertaken on Friday.

The state’s border is now closed to 36 areas in Victoria, meaning any Queenslanders who return home over the next 14 days will need to undergo hotel quarantine.

Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott said the lockdown would have “monumental social and economic costs”.

“Small businesses will now be making decisions about whether to lay-off staff or destroy inventory, airlines will be cancelling thousands of flights and shifts,” she said.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said 11 of the 12 staff who worked alongside an infectious staffer at the Brunetti cafe in Melbourne Airport’s terminal 4 have returned negative tests.

“That is very significant given they were at the highest risk of exposure, given their proximity to the infected co-worker,” he said.

“It doesn’t mean that all the challenges in association with that business, their customers and the Terminal 4 issues are over. Far from it.”