NRL Grand Final fears as four local cases detected within hours
There are fears over Sunday’s staging of the NRL Grand Final after Brisbane was rocked by four new local Covid-19 cases in just a matter of hours, with calls for authorities to postpone the event to stop the risk of further spread.
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Brisbane has been rocked by four local Covid-19 cases in a matter of hours, with a guesthouse in South Brisbane under police guard, more than a dozen people placed into isolation and casting doubt over the NRL Grand Final.
Queensland recorded six new Covid cases on Tuesday - four locally acquired.
Two of them are an aviation worker and his wife with mystery surrounding where they contracted the infection.
A third is a truckie who lives in shared accommodation - The Adalong Guesthouse - at South Brisbane and was infectious in the community for a week.
The Adalong Guesthouse student accommodation on Stephens Road has been cordoned off by police as authorities scramble to gather more information after the infected truckie lived there while contagious for a week.
People at the guesthouse could be forced into hotel quarantine due to the number of shared facilities at the facility, Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeannette Young said.
An Adalong Student Guesthouse spokesman declined to comment, while Queensland Health has been contacted for comment.
Fears over the staging of the state’s first ever NRL Grand Final are growing, with an infectious diseases expert telling media she believes the event should be postponed.
Professor Mary-Louise McLaws of the University of NSW said Sunday’s grand Final at Suncorp Stadium “could be a super-spreading event” and authorities would have to think very fast about whether the even should be held with the same number of people.
“I’d be surprised if they cancel it, but I personally think they should,” she said.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the new cases on Tuesday, which include the aviation worker, his wife and the South Brisbane truckie and a person who tested positive after leaving 14-days hotel quarantine.
More contact exposure sites are set to be added.
Peter Collins has been living next door to the guesthouse for 20 years and said he has only ever seen students stay for “three or four days”.
“It’s a normal guesthouse but I have definitely noticed business pick up in the last few months,” he said.
Mr Collins normally wakes up at 4am every morning but said when he woke up this morning he noticed a police car in the driveway next door which was “unusual”.
“By the time I got back from getting the newspaper there were several police cars in the street”
The aviation industry employee unknowingly infected with the virus visited a busy childcare centre northwest of Brisbane, making it one of several new contact sites to be added to Queensland Health’s website late on Monday night.
Parents from Mother Duck Childcare and Kindergarten were sent a letter from Metro North Public Health Unit physician Graham Neilsen confirming a case had come into contact with the centre on September 23.
“Metro North Public Health Unit has been notified of a confirmed case of coronavirus infection in a person who recently visited Mother Duck Childcare Centre,” Dr Neilsen wrote.
“This person was present at the centre on September 23, 2021, and unknowingly infectious at the time.
“The following attendees are casual contacts:
- All persons in attendance at the centre from 7.25am until 8.00am on September 23, 2021
“Casual contacts must isolate, get tested as soon as practical and continue to isolate until they receive a negative result.”
According to the letter a small number of close contacts will be followed up directly by MNPHU and placed into quarantine.
Other exposure sites include:
- McDonald’s Albany Creek drive through, 768 Albany Creek Rd, 5.05am-5.10am, September 23
- Seats ‘R’ Us 1/1620 Ipswich Rd, Rocklea, 11.15am- 11.45am
- Freedom Furniture, 815 Zillmere Rd, Aspley, 4.40pm- 5pm
Queensland Health issued a statement on Monday night: “A public health alert is being issued for locations in Eatons Hill, Albany Creek, Aspley and Rocklea following a confirmed case of COVID-19 in Brisbane.
“The source of infection is under investigation. The man in his 30s works in the aviation industry, with no recent history of overseas or interstate travel.
“The case will be reported in tomorrow’s Covid-19 data. Further information on the case will be provided at the press conference tomorrow morning.”
Mother Duck Eatons Hill also reached out to parents via email confirming Queensland Health had notified it about the confirmed case.
“We have checked our electronic sign in and out records and have made direct contact will all families and children deemed as casual contacts,” the email stated.
“If we have not been in contact with you, there’s nothing further you need to do now.
“Please be assured that we will continue to keep you updated with any further information we receive.”
The public health alert followed Monday morning’s announcement of no new cases for Queensland.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk used the Covid-19 update to launch two new vaccination centres on the Gold Coast – one at the Tugun Private Hospital and at Coomera.
Both will open in two weeks’ time and both will take walk-ins.
There are 63.78 per cent of people with the first dose and 44 per cent of Queenslanders are fully vaccinated.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said it was vital Queenslanders continue to get the jab.
“There is plenty of vaccine, there is no shortage,” she said.
Dr Young said it was not as simple as naming an 80 per cent vaccination rate as the one Queensland would reopen at.
She said it would be wonderful to have fewer restrictions by Christmas.
“We should all prepare and hope and get people vaccinated,” she said.
“The more people who are vaccinated the more likely we can remove those last remaining restrictions.”
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Originally published as NRL Grand Final fears as four local cases detected within hours
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