Tourist transferred from Hamilton Island with coronavirus

Furious experts have slammed a UK tourist who flew to Hamilton Island with coronavirus as “almost criminally negligent” and “highly irresponsible”. They say she put lives at risk at time when health authorities were “busting our gut” to stop the pandemic.

A UK tourist who defied health advice and flew to Hamilton Island after being diagnosed with coronavirus in Sydney was “almost criminally negligent” in her actions and “put lives at risk”.

The Courier-Mail understands the woman, in her mid-30s, was found on a Hamilton Island beach after NSW Health authorities alerted their Queensland counterparts.

She was isolated on Hamilton Island on Sunday night and transferred by boat to Mackay.

Griffith University infectious diseases expert Nigel McMillan described the woman’s actions in not heeding a public health recommendation as “highly irresponsible”.

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A Hamilton Island spokeswoman said there was no need to close the island after the positive test.

“Ultimately, these sorts of indiscretions can potentially lead to the deaths of old people,” Professor McMillan said.

“We have had 23 cases of people in Australia over the age of 70 with coronavirus so far and five of them have died.

“If people want a reason why you should be adhering to health orders that’s a pretty good one.”

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ Queensland chair Bruce Willett described the woman’s actions as “almost criminally negligent”.

“It’s terrible,” he said.

Dr Willett urged authorities to take “a heavy-handed approach” to people breaching public health advice.

He said GPs, accident and emergency staff and paramedics were “busting our gut” to try and control the spread of COVID-19.

“We’re all stressed about the workload and the constant worry about getting it ourselves,” Dr Willett said.

He said seeing people flout public health advice aimed at protecting the community “makes us pretty angry”.

The woman, believed to have been in Australia for less than a week, is in the Mackay Base Hospital.

She is understood to have told health authorities she did not understand the directive to self-isolate after testing positive to COVID-19.

In a statement, a Hamilton Island spokeswoman said: “Hamilton Island can confirm that an international visitor who arrived on the island has returned a positive result to COVID-19.

“Hamilton Island would like to stress that the safety and wellbeing of our guests and staff on the island is of utmost priority. We would like to remind anyone travelling to the island about the importance of strictly following the advice of the government and health authorities during this uncertain time.”

The spokeswoman said Queensland Health advice was that there was no need to close the island.

“It’s very low risk,” she said.

The tourist’s case has been reported as part of NSW coronavirus figures.

Health authorities recommend that anyone being tested for COVID-19 should quarantine themselves until the test results are known. Once someone tests positive, if they are not sick enough to be admitted to hospital, they are required to go into home isolation for 14 days.

The number of known Queensland cases of COVID-19, including three patients off the Diamond Princess who were diagnosed in Darwin and then transferred home, stands at 78.

For more information: 13 HEALTH.

Originally published as Tourist transferred from Hamilton Island with coronavirus