Coronavirus: Queensland on high alert for UK strain
A cleaner who contracted COVID-19 at a Brisbane quarantine hotel and has been moving about the community for days is carrying the highly infectious UK strain of the virus.
A cleaner who contracted COVID-19 at a Brisbane quarantine hotel and has been moving about the community for days is carrying the highly infectious UK strain of the virus.
Queensland Health has confirmed that the woman — in her 20s — has the virulent strain and is suspected of catching it during a single shift on January 2 at the Hotel Grand Chancellor at Spring Hill in Brisbane’s inner city.
It is the first case in Australia where a person has been outside of quarantine to expose the wider community to the mutant UK strain.
Queensland Health is rushing to trace contacts for the woman, who caught a train before and after her shift and later went on three shopping trips in surrounding suburbs while infectious.
New restrictions on visitor access have been imposed on aged-care homes, hospitals and disability services throughout Brisbane.
The worker, who lives in the southern Brisbane suburb of Algester, tested positive to the virus on Wednesday night, prompting a warning for anyone living in Sunnybank Hills, Algester and Calamvale to get tested if they developed symptoms.
There had been four positive cases recently detected in quarantine at the Brisbane hotel, including one with the UK strain.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the cleaner was negative to the virus in a weekly test of hotel workers on December 29, but after developing symptoms, she was tested on Wednesday and the virus was detected.
Genomic sequencing later confirmed she was infected with the UK strain.
Dr Young said the cleaner had not done anything wrong.
“We’re taking a very cautious approach with this case, now that we know for sure this person has the UK variant of the virus,” she said.
“Evidence shows that this variant is 70 per cent more infectious than other strains. This is why I’m taking this firm action swiftly, to protect our most vulnerable facilities.”
In Perth, health authorities have confirmed that an elderly traveller who arrived on January 2 and who may have passed the coronavirus to three workers does have the new, mutant British COVID-19 strain.
Three people — an airport worker, a nurse and an ambulance paramedic — went into mandatory quarantine on Wednesday after interacting with the woman, in her 80s, after she arrived in Western Australia from London.
They were not properly wearing appropriate personal protective equipment.
It was announced on Thursday that the airport worker did not have the virus.
The WA government is reviewing the incident but has denied the coronavirus could spread into the community.
National cabinet will discuss the latest infection and community threat, with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk saying she will be seeking more federal assistance to deal with international arrivals.
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath on Thursday said discussion was needed on whether international travellers should be tested for the virus before boarding their flights for Australia and whether masks should be mandatory on domestic routes.
“We do need to look particularly at people arriving from overseas from those international flights and what else we can be doing to stop the infection coming to our shores,” Ms D’Ath said.
At a press conference, Ms Palaszczuk said she would be raising the need for “more co-operation” from the federal government on quarantine measures for international arrivals at national cabinet on Friday.
About 1000 international arrivals are accepted into Queensland each week.
“Yes … that is why we have made sure we have not succumbed to any pressure to any increase of our arrivals,’’ Ms Palaszczuk said when asked whether Queenslanders could be confident about hotel quarantine protective measures. “We have done it in a measured and responsible manner as to what Queensland can cope with.”
She said Australia had to be even more vigilant with the widespread transmission of the virus in the northern hemisphere.
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