Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young warns masks ‘critical’ at airports after COVID cases
The Queensland Chief Health Officer has issued a reminder to airport travellers after three COVID-19 cases flew into the state.
Gold Coast
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TRAVELLERS have been warned masks are “critical” to public safety after Brisbane Airport passengers tested positive for COVID-19.
Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young issued a reminder to airport visitors on Saturday.
The three cases had “some limited exposure” at the airport, with Queensland Health officials saying there is no risk to other passengers.
“Recently, we’ve had three positive COVID-19 cases who have had some limited exposure in Brisbane Airport,” Dr Young said.
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“We have completed our contact tracing for all three and I want to reassure Queenslanders that there is no risk to the public – primarily thanks to mask wearing, social distancing and cleaning processes.
“The first case is the person who was on the Qatar flight and subsequently transited onto New Zealand on 17 February.
“The second case which was reported today is an aircrew member who arrived in Brisbane on 2 March and tested negative to COVID-19 as part of standard testing processes.
“They were in the airport on 3 and 4 March on flights in and out of Australia, and further testing on 4 March as part of the testing protocol returned a positive result.
“The third is a case reported on 4 March who came from the Ok Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea.
“This person was transiting through Brisbane on their way home but due to the layover time, went into hotel quarantine on 25 February for the night while awaiting their flight the following day.
“They went back to the airport on 26 February and headed to their flight, which they were unable to take in the end, so they headed back to hotel quarantine. They subsequently tested positive to COVID-19 on 2 March.
“All of this was done with appropriate safety protocols in place, like mask wearing.
“The person was sent in approved taxi’s as part of the quarantine transport process to and from the airport, and both taxi drivers have been tracked down.
“While it is low risk, we are taking a precautionary approach and both drivers are in isolation and are being tested.”
There is a $200 on-the-spot fine in place for those found not wearing a mask in Queensland airports.
Dr Young said there had been an increase in people arriving at airports without a mask on hand.
“It is absolutely critical everyone follows the rules and wears a mask if they’ve got plans to travel,” she said.
“It could be the difference between catching COVID-19 or not.”
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