Qld venue alerts: Multiple massage parlours listed as exposure sites

Queensland health authorities have issued an urgent coronavirus alert for multiple massage parlours which were exposed to Covid-19.

Queensland is bracing for more possible locally acquired infections after multiple massage parlours were listed as exposure sites.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has resisted ordering the state into lockdown amid a number of clusters emerging over the last seven days, with health authorities confident community spread had been contained.

But the rising number of venues added to the exposure list has escalated concern of more local cases as the state hopes to avoid stay-at-home orders after an unlinked case was reported on Monday.

Queensland Health is scrambling to trace and test dozens of venues with a number of new exposure sites located in Brisbane’s northern suburbs linked to a woman in her 50s who was infectious in the community for 10 days.

The list features a string of massage and beauty spas, with the latest exposure noted as Friday, October 1, at the Water Lilly Spa in Archerfield.

Health authorities are following possible infection spread at half a dozen massage parlours. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jono Searle

Anyone who visited the venue between 9am and 7pm is identified as a close contact and will need to isolate for 14 days regardless of a the result of the Covid test.

The other massage parlours as close contact venues are listed below:

• UME Massage Spa, Redcliffe, Saturday, September 5, 9am – 7pm
• Cannon Hill Massage, Cannon Hill, Sunday, September 26, 9am – 7pm
• Little Crown Massage, Slacks Creek, Monday, September 27, 9am – 7pm, and Wednesday, September 29, 8.40am – 7pm
• UMI Massage, Cannon Hill, Tuesday, September 28, 9.30am – 7pm
• Water Lilly Spa, Archerfield, Friday, October 1, 9am – 7pm

The full list of exposure venues can be found here.

Chief health officer Jeannette Young urged residents in Brisbane’s north to monitor for symptoms and to get tested immediately as the mystery case sparked fears of community transmission.

“We will get genome sequencing back to try to work out where this person has acquired the infection, but at this stage there are no close links that we've been able to identify,” she told reporters on Monday morning.

“She hasn’t been to any known exposure sites. So all of the exposure sites that she’s been at while infectious are up on our website and we'll continue to work with her to make sure that we’ve picked all of those up.”

Health authorities issue alert for massage parlours across southeast Queensland.

Dr Young previously warned one local case would be enough to trigger a lockdown but has resisted advising Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to force stay-at-home orders despite multiple live clusters emerging across the southeast.

“The only thing that's reassuring me is the amount of testing that we’ve done,” she said.

“This has happened at the same time that we've had those restrictions in place and that enhanced testing.

“She (new infection) is also double vaccinated, so she’s fully vaccinated — her second dose was back in August and her household members are all negative.

“So I am reasonably reassured by all of that.”

Originally published as Qld venue alerts: Multiple massage parlours listed as exposure sites