NSW COVID: No new cases, 8 local infections in Queensland
Queensland has eight new local COVID cases and the details have been labelled “confusing” by the state’s own chief health officer. Meanwhile, NSW Health has issued new alerts for Byron venues.
NSW
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Queensland has recorded eight new local cases of COVID-19 with the source of two infections still under investigation.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the cases have been linked to two separate clusters.
“I can now report that we have 10 new cases overnight. Now, eight of these are community acquired cases with six confirmed close contacts and two are under investigation. We believe they are linked to the two people,” she said.
There are now 15 cases linked to two clusters which both emerged from the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.
One of these is linked to a doctor from Princess Alexandra Hospital who was detected earlier this month, and the second is linked to the nurse who worked on the COVID-19 ward before she had been vaccinated.
The nurse and her sister travelled to Byron Bay without knowing they were carrying the virus and spread it to five other people. All cases are now back in Queensland.
Queensland Health is investigating whether a male entertainer from the Gold Coast who worked a hens’ party in Byron Bay is a close contact of one of the women who carried the virus into NSW.
“One of the positive cases in that second cluster attended the hens’ party as an entertainer and he came back and lives on the Gold Coast and works as a tradie,” the state’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said.
“He did go to an aged care facility on the Gold Coast but every resident in that aged care facility has already been vaccinated, had their first dose. I have not got confirmation about whether they have received their second dose.
Dr Young tried to explain the clusters to reporters on Tuesday morning, but admitted even she was having trouble getting her head around it.
“The nurse worked at the PA Hospital on March 18 in the COVID ward. We now have the genome sequence result back... She has exactly the same genome to a gentleman who arrived and was treated in the PA Hospital and was tested on March 22,” Dr Young said.
“She did do a shift on the night of March 23.
“My hypothesis... She has acquired the infection when at work... But I don’t know whether she got it directly from that patient, because she wasn’t working with COVID cases that night... or whether she’s got it from someone else in the hospital.
“It’s very confusing, I apologise,” she said.
There were no local COVID cases detected in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm last night despite two infected people travelling to Byron Bay from Queensland.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said “we need to brace ourselves.”
“I hope that we do not have any cases emerge in NSW, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we do,” she said before adding NSW will “have to respond” if new cases are detected in this state.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant has revealed that a person who normally resides in NSW who was with two cases that visited Byron Bay venues has now also tested positive.
That person is now in Queensland so will be included in that state’s numbers.
NSW COVID: No new cases, 8 local infections in Queensland
Gladys Berejiklian said her government is giving a proportionate response to the outbreak in Brisbane as Western Australia and South Australia bar Queenslanders from the states.
“What gives us a greater level of confidence is the QR code system. It gives us an extra weapon to be able to contact trace people very quickly. From the feedback I’ve received no other state in Australia has a system like ours,” she said.
“No system is perfect but if everybody checks in when we ask them it just means that health has the extra ability to contact trace everybody to particular venues.”
Queensland’s growing COVID cluster has thrown holiday plans into chaos with NSW residents urged not to go to Brisbane for the Easter long weekend.
The Sunshine State’s capital was thrown into a three-day-lockdown yesterday afternoon to control a growing COVID cluster which increased by four on Monday.
The missive could see more than 10,000 Sydneysiders who were due to fly into Brisbane this weekend forced to change their plans at the last minute.
Despite the recommendation to change travel plans, the NSW government did not declare Greater Brisbane as a “hotspot” area as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had suggested.
“I’ll follow the health advice rather than the advice of my political colleagues,” the Premier said.
“We are not shutting down our border,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Brad Hazzard yesterday announced Brisbane residents would not be welcome at Byron Bay’s Bluesfest music festival amid the increased COVID risk.
“Don’t come,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to the organisers and I understand arrangements are being put in place for refunds,” he said.
Yesterday morning, Queenslanders holidaying in Sydney made last ditch efforts to return home before the 5pm lockdown.
Couple Jess Briguglio and Robert McGowan were torn between going back for the lockdown or extending their stay in Sydney.
The pair had been staying in Sydney since Friday, but were eager to ensure they would be back with family to celebrate the Easter weekend.
“We’ve also got two fur babies we need to look after, dogs and cats and all that kind of stuff,” Ms Briguglio said.
“We will be back in NSW as soon as we can. This is a second home for us for the most part.
“We like to come here as much as we can, and this was the first time we had been back since all of COVID-19 happened.”
But luckily for husband and wife Richard and Tammy Truong, and their two sons Hugo, 3, and Beau, 2, their four day trip to Sydney was always planned to finish up on Monday before heading back home.
However, Mrs Truong – an essential worker- will be one of thousands who won’t be able to stay home and instead arrive straight back into work.
“We weren’t planning on the lockdown or going back to one,” she said.
“Our trip we booked today was exactly to plan. We seem to dodge COVID-19 every time we go away. Last time we went to Cairns and it ended in lockdown and now this time.”
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Originally published as NSW COVID: No new cases, 8 local infections in Queensland
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