Coronavirus: Fully vaccinated airport worker tests positive to Covid-19 in Queensland

Plans to ease restrictions in Queensland on Friday have been put on hold after three new cases, including an airport worker who was fully vaccinated.

Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Plans to ease Queensland’s Covid restrictions on Friday have been put on hold after three local cases were detected on Thursday.

The cases included a fully vaccinated airport worker and a 12-year-old boy who tested positive after completing two weeks quarantine in Sydney, along with his father.

Annastacia Palaszczuk said mask wearing and other restrictions would remain for 11 local government areas in southeast Queensland, including Greater Brisbane, for another week.

The airport worker, a woman aged in her 40s who lives at Tarragindi on Brisbane’s southside, received her second Pfizer dose in March and fell ill on July 13.

She returned a positive swab the following day.

Chief health officer Jeannette Young said she was “very concerned” as the woman worked at Brisbane International Airport for three days while unknowingly infectious.

“They did absolutely the right thing and they were vaccinated. But, we now have to see where they have been working, who they have come into contact with,” she said.

The woman also visited Woolworths Annerley on July 12 and Chemist Warehouse Annerley on July 14 before getting tested.

Dr Young said while vaccinated people could still contract and pass on the virus, they are unlikely to need an ICU admission and are “extremely unlikely” to die from the infection.

“She has quite a few symptoms but she is not critically sick,” she said.

Dr Young suspects the woman was infected at the airport, but was waiting on genome testing results.

“We are working that through with the managers at the airport … we want all flight crews both domestic and international to be vaccinated,” she said.

The Transport Workers’ Union secretary Michael Kaine said while the ground crew worker was vaccinated, her infection put other unvaccinated staff at risk.

“Every day that aviation workers are not on the priority list for vaccination is another day when our defences against Covid are exposed,” he said.

“Queensland aviation workers like all other airport workers are working on the frontline of Covid as the spread comes through the movement of people.”

Mr Kaine said workers at Brisbane Airport also had concerns about cleaning standards and called for more regular deep cleans.

The Covid-positive boy meanwhile was likely infected during his quarantine stint in Sydney before travelling to Queensland.

The 12-year-old and his mother returned from the United States on June 21 and began a two week quarantine stay in Sydney.

The boy became sick on July 9, the day the family travelled to Brisbane.

He was not swabbed until July 13, Dr Young said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

“So he became unwell that evening after they arrived back and went and saw a doctor at the Aspley medical centre on July 13, visited the adjoining pharmacy in that centre and then got tested on (the same day). That result came back late yesterday.”

The child’s mother has not tested positive yet but is isolating with her child in hospital.

The father, who did not travel with the others, has also tested positive.

He went to work at a financial services firm on the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday while contagious.

Dr Young said it was not “impossible” that the boy contracted Covid in the US but it was more likely he caught it in quarantine.

Queensland meanwhile will keep its border open with Victoria despite 10 new local cases detected there on Wednesday.

Tougher border restrictions were expected to be enforced if Melbourne goes into lockdown.

Ms Palaszczuk said authorities were updating border decisions with Victoria and NSW daily.

“If you are a Queenslander, do not go to Victoria at this time,” she said.

“If you are a Queenslander currently in Victoria, maybe reconsider your travel and think about coming home.

“I cannot be clearer. We are seeing these little spot fires happening across the nation and we need to make sure we get this under control.”

Queensland’s border with regional NSW remains open.