How health authorities found isolation-skipping Covid case who travelled to Ballina, then Queensland

The man travelled from Sydney to Ballina to Queensland and was in the community there for a week before he was found out.

Update 8.55am: NSW Health has update its advice concerning a passenger who arrived at Ballina on July 14, who later tested positive to Covid-19.

People who were at the Ballina Airport arrivals lounge between 11.45am and 12.10pm on Wed 14 July are considered ‘casual contacts’ who must get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.

The Health department advised people get tested even if you have had a test in recent days.

“If your date of exposure at the listed venues occurred in the past four days, you must get another test on day five from the date of exposure. Wear a mask around others and limit your movements until you get another negative result. You should continue to monitor for symptoms and if any symptoms occur, get tested again,” the department’s statement read.

Original story: A Qantas worker who presented for Covid testing led to the discover of an isolation-skipping Virgin passenger who travelled from Sydney to Ballina, then to Queensland.

The Northern Rivers has been on alert after the revelation overnight that a man who travelled on Virgin flight VA1139 – which landed in Ballina about 11.45am on Wednesday, July 14 – was infectious with the virus at the time.

New South Wales and Queensland health authorities have pieced together some of the circumstances around how the man managed to skip isolation and leave the state.

He had been identified as the contact of a positive Covid-19 case in Sydney and, according to authorities, returned a positive result but instead received a text to say he was negative.

Regardless, he had been ordered to isolate for 14 days.

When he flew into Ballina on July 14, a Qantas flight attendant picked him up and drove him to Queensland.

The pair were infectious in the community until the flight attendant tested positive; her case was reported by Queensland Health on Friday.

Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young said the Ballina traveller came to the attention of authorities during contact tracing after the flight attendant was diagnosed.

“This gentleman was a close contact of a known case in Sydney so he got tested,” Dr Young said.

“It came back positive on July 12 but due to an error in that private lab, he got a text message saying it came back negative.

“He should have remained in quarantine.

“We became aware of him here because he was a close contact of that Qantas flight crew member and police located him and placed him into hotel quarantine on the 21st.”

Dr Young said while the infected man acted unlawfully by leaving isolation, the flight attendant did not break any law in her actions.

The Queensland border was not closed to New South Wales at the time the pair entered Queensland together.

Dr Young urged people who had been in the Gold Coast or Brisbane areas since July 14 to regularly check the list of exposure sites.