Man fined, remanded after fleeing regional Queensland hotel quarantine

For the twelfth day in a row, Queensland has avoided any community transmission of COVID-19, as a 25-year-old who escaped mandatory hotel quarantine is fined.

A 25-year-old man who escaped mandatory hotel quarantine after returning to Queensland from a COVID-19 hot spot did so to find drugs.

Aaron Sydney Green appeared via video link in Toowoomba Magistrates Court today, charged with breaching the Public Health Act.

The court heard Green had been living and working in Sydney but returned to Queensland before the borders shut to be with his pregnant partner, according to the Toowoomba Chronicle.

He was told on August 3 to isolate at the Athena Motel in Toowoomba for 14 days, however on Monday afternoon, his seventh day, he left the grounds and did not return until Wednesday.

He was then arrested and taken into custody, later testing negative to COVID-19.

The court heard he had left the motel to source drugs.

Green was fined $1500 and remanded in custody, ordered to return to hotel quarantine where he would need to undergo a further test.

It comes as Queensland has continued its community COVID-19 transmission free streak for the twelfth day in a row, as the state recorded no new cases of the virus on Thursday.

Thursday, 13 August – coronavirus cases in Queensland:

• 0 new confirmed cases
• 9 active cases
• 1,089 total confirmed cases
• 705,622 tests conducted

Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,076 patients have recovered.#covid19au pic.twitter.com/i6HxHsq0p6

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) August 12, 2020

Earlier this week two teenagers sparked a scare after they returned to the Sunshine Coast from Sydney through a train station, allegedly without telling police their whereabouts.

They tested negative to the virus but remain in hotel quarantine. Yesterday they were charged with a “variety” of offences, including false declaration offences.

It’s understood one of the teens has now returned to New South Wales after they were placed into hotel quarantine.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Wednesday it had been 203 days since the state’s first case of COVID-19.

“Recently we learned just how much we value our days without new cases,” she said, referring to a recent scare linked to two women who spent eight days in Brisbane’s south side after returning from a hot spot.

“We had a three-month streak of no community transfer until the selfishness of a few undid the hard work of the many … anxiety crept back into Queensland.

“But, thank God, the people of Queensland, especially those in Logan, Springfield and Ipswich, responded exactly as a united community should.”

Authorities are warning against complacency, after New Zealand recorded four new cases of COVID-19 after 102 days without community transmission.

Health Minister Steven Miles said until recently, Queensland had recorded 63 straight days of no community transmission, and said it didn’t “take much” to spark an outbreak.

“Despite challenges in the past few weeks, Queensland remains on top of COVID-19,” he said.

Ms Palaszczuk thanked Queenslanders for continuing to come out in “droves” to get tested, with more than 6xx, xxx tests conducted since the onset of the pandemic.

The state’s total number of cases remains steady at 1089 with only nine active.