Alert raised as Queensland identifies almost a dozen close contacts of Sydney’s cluster

Health authorities in Queensland are concerned after several close contacts of Sydney’s northern beaches cluster were found in the sunny state.

Fears have been raised of a coronavirus outbreak in Queensland after almost a dozen close contacts of the Sydney’s northern beaches cluster were discovered in the sunshine state.

The connection was made by NSW contact tracers who have alerted Queensland Health to the precarious situation.

Health Minister Yvette D‘Ath said 11 people had been tested and asked to isolate until the results came back after Queensland recorded no new cases overnight.

“New South Wales has advised us that there are 11 people in Queensland who are close contacts with positive cases from the northern beaches,” Ms D’Ath said.

“These 11 people have been contacted by Queensland Health, have been asked to be tested and have also gone into self-contained (quarantine).”

Health Minister Yvette D‘Ath said police will conduct random checks to ensure NSW residents comply with border pass restrictions. Picture: Annette Dew

The scare comes after a woman in her 50s, who had travelled from the Northern Beaches region, had tested positive to COVID-19 in Brisbane.

The woman arrived in Queensland on Virgin flight VA925 on December 16 and moved between Brisbane and the Sunshine State for two days before being tested.

The Northern Beaches region is now a hotspot and anyone from the area who arrives in Queensland must mandatory quarantine for two weeks at their own expense.

Besides the Northern Beaches being declared a hot spot, Ms D’Ath also announced NSW residents will need a border pass to enter Queensland from Sunday morning.

She said sentry points would not be set up along the state’s border but police would instead conduct spot-checks to ensure NSW residents comply with border pass restrictions.

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young said NSW residents needed to declare that they had not been to the northern beaches region.

She said border passes would be available online from 8pm Saturday.

“Anyone travelling anywhere from New South Wales into Queensland will need to complete a border pass declaration from 1am tomorrow,” she said.

Queensland police will conduct random border pass checks but barriers will not be erected says Health Minister Yvette D’Ath. Scott Powick Newscorp

“We‘re asking for that so that people can declare that they haven’t been in a hot spot that they don’t have any symptoms, that they haven’t come into contact with a case and are prepared to get tested.

She also pleaded with NSW residents who have travelled from to Greater Sydney or the central coast of New South Wales to get tested when they arrive in Queensland and self-isolate until they receive their results.

“They don’t need to go into quarantine at this stage, but could they stay in quarantine, where they are, until they get that result,” she said.

“That will give us an assurance that we don’t have any spread from other areas.”

NSW Health recorded another 23 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, with 21 of those linked to the Avalon cluster, while two remain under investigation.

There are now 38 confirmed cases linked to the northern beaches cluster.

Queensland had no new cases following more than 3900 tests overnight and has just 10 active cases.

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young says border passes for NSW residents will be available online from 8pm Saturday. Picture: Tara Croser.

Ms D’Ath said police had processed 3600 people coming from New South Wales at airports over the past 48 hours to check whether they had visited the Northern Beaches region hot spot.

“Of those, 174 were given directions to get tested and self-quarantine … one person has gone into hotel quarantine and four people have returned to NSW.”

Ms D’Ath also urged residents from north Cairns, Gold Coast, Cleveland and Townsville to get tested for COVID-19 after the virus was detected in sewage samples in those areas.

Earlier, Education Minister Grace Grace said Queensland Health would be examining the latest NSW cases to determine if more suburbs need to be locked out of the sunshine state.

Education Minister Grace says more areas of NSW may be declared hot spots. Pic: Tara Croser.

“I know that Sydney is very concerned and they’re a bit anxious about it and that makes Queensland concerned and anxious,” Ms Grace told reporters.

“I think at the moment the hot spots obviously will remain the hot spots, and closed as they were yesterday.

“Whether that needs to be extended, I think depends on where those new cases have come from.”

Queensland on Thursday declared the Northern Beaches region a hot spot, forcing any Queenslander who has been there in the past week to isolate at home.