Queensland sets 48-hour deadline for NSW to find source of three new cases of community transmission

NSW contact tracers have 48 hours to find the source of three new virus cases to have a chance of the Qld border opening on November 1.

NSW contact tracers are in a race against time to identify the source of three new virus cases if the state’s borders are to fully open up to Queensland.

Queensland’s Health Minister Steven Miles on Wednesday set a time parameter on NSW contact tracers to determine how the latest positive tests were contracted.

NSW needs to have 28 days of no community transmission for the Queensland government to reopen its borders to the entire state.

NSW ended 12 days of no community transmisions when three locally-acquired cases were announced on Wednesday.

The new cases are not believed to be linked to each other, and are spread across the Parramatta, Camden and Wollondilly – two women and a man, all aged in their 50s.

Mr Miles said: “The contact tracers in NSW will have 48 hours to see if they can scientifically link these cases to existing clusters.
“I really hope they can and, if they can, it won’t have any effect on our timeline.

“As far as we know for now we are still on track for that review towards the end of the month and a potential reopening on the first (of November).”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said testing numbers across the state were too low, especially considering the new cases.

“Our suspicions the virus is always lurking in the community are founded – and we wouldn’t have said it if we didn’t mean it,” she said.

NSW has reported no recent cases of locally transmitted #COVID19 through to 8pm last night, for the 12th consecutive day.

However, since 8pm, three reports of cases have been received – two in South Western Sydney and one in Western Sydney. These are under urgent investigation. pic.twitter.com/NZMkGMD2Bo

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 7, 2020

The news comes after NSW Health issued an urgent warning to nearly half a million residents living in south western Sydney and the Hawkesbury areas to come forward for testing.

Recent samples of sewage in the areas uncovered traces of the virus, despite no recent cases in the area.

This break in the state’s 12-day streak with no community transmission resets the clock for the border between NSW and Queensland to open, which QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said would take 28 days of no locally acquired cases.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was “highly improbable” NSW would ever meet the 28-day requirement for the Queensland border to open. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Ms Berejiklian delivered a stinging barb to her northern counterpart, suggesting there is no way the state would ever be able to go four weeks with no local cases.

“We have to assume during the course of the pandemic that from time to time, we’re always going to have this,” she said.

“We’re always going to have cases pop up because we’re in a pandemic, but also in an economy that is open … where we don’t have borders but for Victoria.

“So I say to the Queensland Government, I appreciate you’ll probably come out today and say the 28 days is ticking again from the start, but I will put to you – until the end of the pandemic, it’s highly unlikely, highly improbable that NSW will ever get to 28 days of no community transmission, because that is not how a pandemic works.

“Queensland and WA have the luxury of closing their borders, so they have a higher chance of having zero community transmitted cases.”

Queensland’s on the road to recovery and we can’t risk a detour. pic.twitter.com/NPi5mpiwPI

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) October 7, 2020

Ms Berejiklian said Wednesday’s news would not stop the government working to ease restrictions over summer, with the Premier noting: “We’ll never be out of the woods until there’s a vaccine.”

“We want to continue to work with industry, continue looking at what restrictions we might be able to ease over summer, but we will have more confidence to make those decisions if we see a high rate of compliance (from businesses).

“What is also top of mind for us is our success has been borne from a combination of good advice from the experts, but also an outstanding response from the community.”

Earlier, Mr Miles said there was a sliver of hope for NSW – the cases just need to be linked to an existing outbreak.

“As agreed by the AHPPC, we have said we need 28 days of no unlinked community transmissions (to allow NSW residents back into Queensland). At this stage, it does appear these three cases may be unlinked,” Mr Miles said.

“Contact tracers are working hard to link it to known clusters … It’s very early days.

“There is reason to be concerned, but we hope there’s no clusters out there.

“This is a goal set by the committee of CHOs and adopted by us as a national standard. We need to have agreed standards, they’ve kept Queenslanders safe.”