Infected women linked to Brisbane aged-care home

Residents, staff at Brisbane aged-care home potentially exposed to COVID-19.

Olivia Winnie Muranga and Diana Lasu are at the centre of a potential Queensland Coronavirus outbreak.

Hundreds of residents and staff at a Queensland aged-care home have potentially been exposed to COVID-19 in the state’s first known community outbreak in months.

A 27-year-old man from Bellbird Park, southwest of Brisbane, was revealed on Friday as Queensland’s latest coronavirus case, after crossing paths with one of three young women accused of travelling to Melbourne, lying about it and avoiding mandatory quarantine.

He was among a group of six people, including his wife, who ate at the Madtongsan IV restaurant in Sunnybank on July 23. They were seated at a table adjacent to one of the young women who went to Melbourne and was subsequently found to have the coronavirus.

The man’s wife and one of her relatives at their table work at the Bolton Clarke aged-care centre at Pinjarra Hills in Brisbane’s west. Residents at the centre were confined to their rooms on Friday while relatives, centre staff and health authorities awaited test ­results for the two workers and a third staff member deemed to be a close contact.

“Unprintable,” said Bolton Clarke’s chief operating officer, David Swain, when asked for his views on how the virus had spread. “It is extremely disappointing.”

Two of the staff members are registered nurses and the third is a personal care worker. Between them, they worked 11 shifts from July 23 to last Tuesday. They only ­realised they may have been ­exposed when health authorities released a list of locations attended by the three young women who visited Melbourne. The centre has 106 residents and 152 staff.

“As soon as these staff members were aware of the high-risk location, they self-isolated ­immediately and advised us, and at that point we advised the public health unit,” Mr Swain said. “We’re worried about our staff but we’re particularly worried about our residents. They are a significantly vulnerable population. We’re concerned about their relatives as well, who would be rightly concerned about what’s occurring.”

Olivia Winnie Muranga and Diana Lasu travelled to Melbourne, where they were infected with the coronavirus, and used falsified border crossing passes when they returned, police say.

They have been charged, along with a third woman named as Haja Timbo, 21, who does not have the virus, with fraud and breaching the Public Health Act by allegedly providing false or misleading documents when they returned via Sydney on July 21. They face up to five years’ imprisonment.

The Madtongsan IV Korean restaurant at Sunnybank was one of 11 venues confirmed by Queensland Health as having been visited by Ms Muranga or Ms Lasu after their return to the state. A sister of one of the women has been diagnosed with coronavirus, forcing the closure of Chatswood Hills State School, where she worked in out of school hours care.

Until this week, there had been no cases of COVID-19 outside of quarantine in Queensland since May. Health Minister ­Steven Miles said 1500 people had been notified of possible ­exposure to the three women.

Despite the public outcry at the women’s deceit, travellers ­attempting to cross the border have continued to provide false declarations to police. A 25-year-old woman was fined $4000 on Friday after she allegedly failed to declare she had been in a declared virus hotspot in NSW.