South African coronavirus variant discovery prompts isolation curb

Queensland has cracked down on hotel quarantine after a returned traveller tested positive for the new South African COVID-19 variant.

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says the new strain is thought to be more contagious but not necessarily more severe. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Queensland has cracked down on hotel quarantine after a returned traveller tested positive for the new South African COVID-19 variant.

The infected woman arrived in Queensland on December 22 and was immediately transferred to hotel quarantine. Routine and sequential testing confirmed she was carrying the new virus variant in what is the first case in Australia.

She has been taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital for treatment, which is a procedure for all positive cases in the state to ensure quarantine hotels are kept as safe as possible.

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the new strain is thought to be more contagious but not necessarily more severe. “The risk has escalated and we are seeing more and more cases of travellers returning from overseas. The two new strains … increase that risk even more,” she said.

Since October, 78 cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the state’s hotel quarantine system. Queensland’s two new cases on Tuesday were overseas-acquired.

South Africa became the first country in Africa to pass one million COVID-19 cases at the weekend. The country is facing a resurgence of the COVID-19 in the community, with more than 50,000 new cases reported since Christmas Eve.

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently introduced new restrictions, including a night-time curfew, the mandatory wearing of masks and a ban on alcohol sales to curb socialising.

Queensland’s domestic borders are being closely monitored as police filter 100,000 cars each day at border checkpoints.

More than 533,000 appli­cations were placed for border passes in the past week. About 300 cars containing more than 700 people have been turned away at the border, with 10 infringement notices handed out.

Five people on an alleged illegal holiday on the Gold Coast amassed more than $20,000 in fines on Sunday after entering Queensland from Greater Sydney on false border passes.

Queensland police will allege the three women and two men, aged between 24 and 33, entered the state on Sunday with a declaration they had not been to a declared hotspot within the past two weeks despite each residing within 15km of the Sydney CBD.

A tip-off led investigators to a unit in Surfers Paradise where each Sydneysider was charged $4003 and taken to hotel quarantine at their expense.