List of Qld locations, cancer centre, flights on alert in new coronavirus scare after woman tested positive in Melbourne

Authorities have issued a list of locations and flights on alert after a Townsville resident tested positive in Melbourne.

Three Cairns health centres have been placed on alert after a woman who travelled to Melbourne tested positive for coronavirus in Victoria.

A public health alert has been issued and some residents in Townsville, Cairns and Brisbane have been asked to get tested urgently following the positive diagnosis today.

The Townsville woman, who is in her 30s, left Queensland on October 7 but travelled through Cairns and Brisbane before flying south.

Anyone who has been to these suburbs at these dates and times should monitor their health and if they develop any COVID-19 symptoms, even mild, get tested and isolate until they receive their test result:

September 28 - Icon Cancer Centre Townsville, Hyde Park, Townsville - 4-5pm

September 29 - Mater Day Surgery Hyde Park, Townsville

September 30 - NQ Vascular Pimlico, Townsville - 1-2pm

October 1 - Mater Day

Anyone who has been to these suburbs at these dates and times should monitor their health and if they develop any COVID-19 symptoms, even mild, get tested and isolate until they receive their test result.

Date	Place	Suburb
28 September 4-5pm	Icon Cancer Centre Townsville	Hyde Park, Townsville
29 September	Mater Day Surgery	Hyde Park, Townsville
30 September 1-2pm	NQ Vascular	Pimlico, Townsville
1 October	Mater Day Surgery	Hyde Park, Townsville
3 October	Flight QF2302 Townsville to Cairns
6 October	Flight VA 782 Cairns to Brisbane

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said the woman’s treating doctors had also received tests and were self-isolating.

“Caution is key is ensuring we catch every possible case.

“That’s why we are releasing the below locations as part of a Public Health Alert.

“We are asking anyone who has been to these suburbs at these dates and times to monitor their health. If you develop any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, get tested.

Health Minister Steven Miles said authorities will be conducting contact tracing in all three Queensland cities.

“It’s most likely she contracted it while in Melbourne, she was in Melbourne several days before being tested, however the way we’ve been so successful is by being ultra cautious,” he told reporters on Wednesday morning.

PLEASE SHARE: A Townsville woman has tested positive to COVID-19 in Melbourne after travelling through Cairns and Brisbane. #covid19 pic.twitter.com/ZsPUIdOnDZ

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) October 14, 2020

The coronavirus scare comes after testing in sewage in Townsville revealed the deadly virus was present in the water system, which Mr Miles said would explain the positive test result of the woman now in Melbourne.

Despite the scare, Queensland again recorded no new cases on Wednesday and only has two active cases in the state but the news risks souring the state’s successful run containing the pandemic.

Wednesday, 14 October – coronavirus cases in Queensland:

• 0 new confirmed cases
• 2 active cases
• 1,161 total confirmed cases
• 1,169,423 tests conducted

Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,154 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/BZyflIgtpX

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) October 14, 2020

While NSW recorded more cases on Tuesday than Victoria, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk delivered her daily COVID-19 update on Tuesday with a smile.

“Good morning Queensland … Today I can report we’ve had zero new cases overnight,” Ms Palaszczuk said from Maryborough.

“I love these days, they’re terrific days.”

Since the beginning of the year, Queensland has recorded 1161 cases of COVID-19 and six people have died.

Back in late July, Queensland had recorded six successive days of no active cases, before a few returning travellers brought an end to the streak.

That all changed on July 29, when three Logan women returned to Queensland from Melbourne, two of whom had contracted the virus.

After the women spent days in the community while infectious, the cluster spread over the following two months to encompass more than 60 people, including large numbers of cases linked to the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre and Queensland Corrective Services Academy.

Almost 1.2 million COVID-19 tests have been carried out in Queensland since the onset of the pandemic. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Richard Gosling

Last week, the state marked 28 days since the last known case within that cluster was in the community while infectious, prompting the state’s chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young to declare the cluster “over”.

It’s a far cry from Victoria, which has seen a slight increase in the 14-day rolling average after 12 new cases were announced on Tuesday. The metropolitan Melbourne average now sits at 10.0.

As part of Premier Daniel Andrews’ original roadplan out of lockdown, the state needed that figure to drop to 5 by Sunday, October 25, to see an easing of restrictions.

In NSW, 13 new cases were confirmed on Tuesday, including seven locally-acquired cases.

Queensland has not had a case outside of quarantine since September 11.

Ms Palaszczuk last week said she knew her strict border measures, which meant the state was still closed to Victoria and most of NSW, were not popular with everybody, but had served their purpose.

“Queenslanders have done a mighty job. We can only focus on our economic recovery with a strong health response,” she said last week.

As per the current road map, Queensland will reopen to NSW on November 1 only if the state has recorded 28 days of no so-called “mystery cases”.

When cases began to spike last week, despite initial reports the NSW government had a short time window to identify links between clusters, both Ms Palaszczuk and Dr Young reaffirmed they would still consider the situation at the end of the month.

Testing numbers have remained steady in Queensland, with 4235 samples recorded in the latest testing period.

Almost 1.2 million tests have been carried out in Queensland since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally published as List of Qld locations, cancer centre, flights on alert in new coronavirus scare after woman tested positive in Melbourne