Coronavirus: New Queensland case linked to teens’ night out

The women who lied about their travel to Melbourne have been linked to a new virus case, with fears for an aged care facility.

Olivia Muranga and Diana Lasu. Pictures: Supplied

Queensland has recorded a new coronavirus case – a man who attended a Korean restaurant at the same time as one of the young women who lied about their travel to Victoria. There are also fears for an aged care facility.

Health officials said on Friday the new case was a 27-year-old man from Bellbird Park southwest of Brisbane who dined at the Madtongsan IV restaurant in Sunnybank on July 23 with his wife, his wife’s sister and three other people.

The group of six was seated at a table adjacent to a young woman with COVID-19 who was this week charged by police with serious criminal offences after travelling to Melbourne and lying about it on her return.

The 27-year-old man’s wife and another person from the group of six people at the restaurant work at the Bolton Clarke aged care facility at Pinjarra Hills in Brisbane’s west.

Residents at the facility are being confined to their rooms while health authorities nervously await test results which will show if two women have contracted the coronavirus.

Initially, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young had said the 27-year-old man was related to someone who attended the restaurant.

However, the health department and Health Minister Steven Miles have since clarified that the man dined at the restaurant.

“Queensland Health can confirm that the 27-year-old man from Bellbird Park was at the Madtongsan IV Restaurant in Sunnybank on July 23,” a spokeswoman said.

“Along with five others who are being COVID-19 tested, they dined on a table adjacent to one of the recently identified cases who returned from Victoria.”

Bolton Clarke Chief Operating Officer David Swain said the two workers who had been at the restaurant had last worked at the aged care facility on July 28.

“Both took immediate action to undergo testing and self-isolate when they became aware they had been at one of the restaurants identified in health alerts,” Mr Swain said.

“We continue to closely monitor the health and wellbeing of our residents. We are further increasing our protection measures with all staff wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and following strict designated areas of care (cohorting).

“Under the advice of Queensland Health, all residents in our Pinjarra Hills community are now receiving care in their rooms until further advice. In addition, our Pinjarra Hills community is not open to visitors.

“We will continue to work with Queensland Health to reduce any potential risk.

We are committed to sharing the latest information to residents, families and our people and will continue to provide updates regularly, including through a dedicated phone line, online briefings and additional team members on site to support resident and family communication.

“Families who have any questions are encouraged to call us on 1300 22 11 22.”

Olivia Winnie Muranga and Diana Lasu travelled to Melbourne and returned with coronavirus under falsified border crossing passes, police say.

They have been charged, along with a third woman 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 Market Square 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.

Mr Miles released a statement on Facebook.

“Today a 27 year old man (P4) has been diagnosed with COVID-19,” Mr Miles said.

“He had dinner with his wife (P2) and her sister (P3) at the Madtongsan IV restaurant in Sunnybank at the same time as a young woman (P1) who was diagnosed earlier in the week (23 July).

“P2 and P3 are currently being tested and are in quarantine.

“P1 was one of the young women who had been to Melbourne and were charged yesterday by police. She had been co-operating with police.

We’ll keep you updated as our contact tracers follow all possible links.”

Queensland coronavirus duo under police guard

Olivia Winnie Muranga and Diana Lasu, both 19 and from Brisbane’s southside, remain in the Princess Alexandra Hospital under police guard, partly for their own protection, police have confirmed.

The pair and another woman, aged 21, who does not have the virus, were charged on Thursday with fraud and for breaching the Public Health Act by allegedly providing false or misleading documents when they returned via Sydney on July 21.

The maximum penalty for the fraud charge is five years’ ­imprisonment, while the border declaration breaches can lead to fines of up to $13,345.

All three are due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 28.

Two schools, a shopping centre and several restaurants and bars visited by the women after they returned to Queensland were closed and patrons notified after the posit­ive tests.

Police Commissioner Katar­ina Carroll slammed the women, saying they had endangered people’s lives. “They went to extraordinar­y lengths to be deceitful and deceptive and quite frankly criminal in their behaviour and that is what has put the community at risk,” Ms Carroll said. “We will not tolerate this behaviour at our borders.”

The breach led Ms Carroll to enact a more hardline approach, instructing officers to consider handing out notices to appear in court, rather than fines, for those engaging in deliberate acts of ­deception on border passes.

On Thursday morning, Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said police were considering more charges against one of the 19-year-olds over her refusal to co-operate with investigators and detail her whereabouts since returning to Brisbane.

Hours later, police said the woman was assisting with their inquiries, allowing health offic­ials to piece together a timeline of her movements and conduct painstaking contact tracing.

Police analysed the women’s mobile phones to try to determine their movements.

The girls were also issued infringement notices by Victorian police for allegedly attending an illegal party in locked-down Melbourne with about 30 other people, Mr Gollschewski said.

Queensland detectives are conducting a separate criminal investigation involving the women, which is “unrelated and not connected to the alleged travel to Victoria”.

A furious Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the women had put lives at risk. “It is unbelievable to think that Queenslanders are putting other Queenslanders at risk,” she said. “That’s what ­really annoys me.”

Parliament House underwent a “deep clean” on Thursday and some staff were directed to take leave after a visit on Wednesday by 90-odd stud­ents from Chatswood Hills State School, where a woman with the virus — the sister of one of the women facing charges — works as an after-school carer. Chatswood Hills State School was closed on Thursday, along with Parklands Christian College, where one of the women is a cleaner.

Queensland recorded three new cases on Thursday, bringing the state total to 11. Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the state, which before Wednesday had not recorded a case of ­community transmission since May, was entering an “increasingly risky time”.

With Mackenzie Scott