COVID-19: Qld waits for contact tracing results as doctor tests positive, hotel plunged into lockdown

Three people have been linked to a local COVID outbreak, as authorities scramble to work out if the virus has spread through quarantine a second time.

Millions of Queenslanders are anxiously awaiting COVID-19 results of more than 300 people after a doctor contracted the virus on the weekend and was linked to two returning travellers.

Six new cases have been confirmed overnight, but they were all detected in hotel quarantine.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said none of the new cases were of concern, but that the next 24 hours would be “crucial”, as authorities confirmed three cases have been linked to the Hotel Grand Chancellor.

The positive result in the community came after a returning traveller who tested positive to the UK strain of COVID-19 while quarantining at the Hotel Grand Chancellor last week was transferred to the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

A doctor at Brisbane Princess Alexandra Hospital tested positive to COVID-19 after treating a patient with the UK variant. Picture: David Clark

A female doctor said to have used “appropriate” PPE was exposed to the virus while treating the patient on Wednesday before spending Thursday out in the south Brisbane community.

She was tested on Friday morning after developing symptoms and returned a positive result later in the day.

Deputy chief health officer Sonya Bennett said authorities were awaiting more than 300 test results after extensive contact tracing. Picture: John Gass

As a result, patrons at the Morning After cafe at West End from 2pm to 3.15pm, Corporate Box Gym at Greenslopes between 5.45pm to 7pm, and the Stones Corner Hotel from 6.30pm to 7.45pm on Thursday have been ordered to get tested immediately and isolate.

At least 272 community contacts have been traced and 160 staff and seven patients were identified as close contacts of the doctor at the hospital, with test results expected to begin trickling in on Monday.

As of Monday morning, 86 people who were tested have come back negative.

Authorities anticipate results from the 300 close contacts to start tricking in on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Three of the doctor’s close contacts had “most reassuringly” tested negative as of Sunday, according to deputy chief health officer Sonya Bennett.

“That’s not to say that they’re completely out of the woods – we’ll continue to monitor them while in quarantine, and we also expect to get test results back from those community contacts in the next few days,” she said.

There are fears COVID-19 may have spread through the Hotel Grand Chancellor again after a guest tested positive on day 12. Picture: Richard Walker

 Dr Bennett confirmed on Monday morning that genomic sequencing had shown a second guest at the Hotel Grand Chancellor had contracted the same strain of COVID-19.

The two cases were staying on the same floor of the hotel, and authorities are scouring over security footage to determine if there is a chain of transmission.

As a result, the facility has entered a 72-hour lockdown, with no guests allowed to leave and no further guests admitted until Wednesday.

More than 160 people are currently staying at the hotel, with more than 200 guests who have left the hotel since March 5 ordered to go into home isolation.

The same hotel was the centre of Brisbane’s snap three-day lockdown in January.

Dr Bennett said she didn’t perceive there to be a risk to the community, but would not preempt whether Brisbane would go back into lockdown.

“If we get positive tests in... we can understand if there is any risk to the community,” she said.

“...They are being treated as a cluster but they are separate (incidents).”

As of Monday, there are 38 active COVID-19 cases in the state.

Originally published as COVID-19: Qld waits for contact tracing results as doctor tests positive, hotel plunged into lockdown