Green-zone breach an ‘innocent mistake’
A COVID-positive passenger allowed into the green zone of Brisbane Airport has prompted a review of procedures.
A near disastrous breach of health protocols at Brisbane International Airport has failed to dent the trans-Tasman travel bubble after the COVID-19 risk posed by an errant passenger was assessed as being low.
In what Brisbane airport described as an “innocent mistake”, two passengers arriving from Papua New Guinea were directed into the airport’s green zone on Thursday instead of the red, mingling with close to 400 travellers heading for New Zealand.
Green zones are intended only for travellers in the trans-Tasman bubble; red zones are designed for all other overseas arrivals who are heading into hotel quarantine.
The pair spent at least 90 minutes in the terminal, at Hudson’s coffee shop, the bathroom and another retailer before airport staff tracked them down.
Concerns were heightened when it was determined on Friday that one of the passengers tested positive to COVID-19 after a previous test was inconclusive.
The man’s fellow traveller tested negative.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the positive case had only a small amount of virus in his body, indicating the infection had almost run its course.
“He’s right at the end and he’s well, so the risks are all adding up to be less and less and less,” she said. People were generally most infectious in the 48 hours before becoming symptomatic and Dr Young was confident the man would not have transmitted the virus to anyone else at the airport.
“I don’t expect there to be any consequences but we always in Queensland take a very cautious approach,” she said.
A statement from New Zealand Health indicated it also viewed the breach as “low risk” and advised passengers who flew from Brisbane on Thursday to monitor their health and get a test if symptoms developed.
Brisbane Airport Corporation was undertaking a review of its green and red zone procedures in partnership with Queensland Health as a result of the breach.
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