Infected Queensland ride-share driver Duran Raman nears end of minimum 14-day hospital quarantine stay

A Gold Coast ride-share driver who put the city on high alert of an outbreak has a major new issue.

The unvaccinated rideshare driver at the centre of a Gold Coat Covid scare is fast approaching the minimum required time for hospital quarantine, although health officials cannot confirm whether he will need to stay longer than the mandatory 14-day period.

Duran Raman, 36, tested positive for the coronavirus at Robina on October 20, with police accusing him of illegally jumping the border back into Queensland following a trip to Melbourne and NSW.

On Monday Mr Raman – still in hospital – copped a $4135 fine for allegedly parking his car at Tweed Heads and walking across the border on the evening of October 15, bringing the virus with him and snapping the state’s two-week run without a local case.

Duran Raman, 36, tested positive for the coronavirus at Robina on October 20, with police accusing him of illegally jumping the border back into Queensland.

“The man, who is a ride-share driver, had allegedly visited two declared Covid-19 hot spots and did not have a border pass to enter Queensland,” police said.

Mr Raman has been at the Gold Coast University Hospital for nearly two weeks as he recovers from symptoms that – at one point – rendered him unable to talk or remember things.

A hospital media spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday that Mr Raman was now in a stable condition, and that the minimum stay required for a Covid patient was 14 days.

Media is reporting the Covid-infected man to be Duran Raman.

But she said that a person’s ultimate release from hospital quarantine depended on a number of factors, including how badly they had been affected by the disease.

Mr Raman was at one point reliant on high-flow oxygen and doctors also feared that he would need intensive care.

He had been unable to speak with police about his movements around the border for a number of days because he was so sick.

Last week police were called to the hospital following reports of a disturbance, with Mr Raman allegedly attempting to leave his room.

Authorities said he lived on the Gold Coast for about a year, had not received a vaccine at the time of his infection, and had not used the Covid check-in app since early September.

Island Beach Resort, Broadbeach is where Duran Raman is living. Duran is in Gold Coast University Hospital suffering from Covid -19.

The fact that he was so unwell upon returning to Queensland on October 15 meant he did not spend much time outside between arriving at his Broadbeach apartment, where he lives alone, and going to hospital.

He had previously driven with Uber but had not taken any passengers or trips since mid-September, the company said.

Uber has been asked whether Mr Raman will be allowed to drive with the company in the future.

Meanwhile, Queensland recorded zero new Covid cases on Tuesday.

The state’s current vaccination status is 77.8 per cent first dose and 64.1 per ent fully vaccinated, with an 80 per cent double-dose target set down for the reopening of borders on December 17.

Originally published as Infected Queensland ride-share driver Duran Raman nears end of minimum 14-day hospital quarantine stay