Toowoomba businesses take on duty of notifying customers

Health authorities reveal a cluster associated with an abattoir has grown, while community members take on exposure listings. Details:

Toowoomba businesses have taken it upon themselves to notify customers of potential Covid-19 exposures after Queensland Health announced it would scale back on releasing exposure sites and cases surge to more than 150.

Bunnings West Toowoomba, Coles Glenvale, Kmart and the Commonwealth Bank branch at Toowoomba Plaza are just four businesses identified as exposure sites, after a Toowoomba mum took it upon herself to collect and release contact tracing information that had been released by the business community.

Melissa Darr started a Facebook page on Wednesday night which lists exposure sites across the city after returning from holidays to see the un-updated exposure list from Queensland Health.

Already, more than 3000 people have joined.

“There’s obviously a need with people wanting to know,” she said.

“There are people who are immune-compromised or not wanting to be in those areas, or feeling anxious - our way of thinking is having to shift.

“People want more piece of mind. But we aren’t getting that with our contract tracing any more.”

Residents who have returned a positive Covid test can now share their check-in lists from when they were infectious within the community.

“I’ve made an option for people to make an anonymous screenshot, and I can post that,” Mrs Darr said.

“I didn’t want people just jumping on one poor person, so I’ve made that option cause I feel like everyone is a bit antsy at the moment.

“As cases rise, it will probably become more common and people may not worry, but at the initial stages, I think people are still very anxious and frightened, and that’s how they react.”

As of Friday afternoon, 155 active cases of Covid-19 were confirmed across the Darling Downs, with at least 30 linked to the Oakey Beef Exports cluster, The Chronicle understands.

“There are cases right across the Darling Downs, in many communities. Over the Christmas period, fewer cases have been linked to workplace exposure than with social gatherings,” a Darling Downs Health spokesperson said.

“The Darling Downs Public Health Unit is working closely with Oakey Beef Exports in relation to a cluster there.

“Many cases have been linked and follow-up is continuing.

“Close contacts associated with cases are in quarantine.”

According to Queensland Health, 101 Darling Downs residents currently have active quarantine notices.

“With the surge in cases across Queensland, contact tracing is currently focusing on high risk exposure settings,” the Darling Downs Health spokesperson said.

“With changes announced nationally yesterday, that came into effect overnight, this focus is more on household and household-like contacts.

“There will therefore be a further shift away from determining and notifying what would previously have been posted on the website as casual contact venues.

“We should all expect that any interaction in the community could lead to a Covid exposure.

“We can minimise our risk of exposure with social distancing, wearing of masks and of course vaccination.

“Businesses which have had a positive case at their location can go to the Queensland Health website for information on managing Covid-19 in the workplace.”

Yesterday, Queensland recorded 3118 new cases of Covid overnight, with chief health officer Dr John Gerrard warning a “substantial wave” of cases was coming earlier than expected.

Dr Gerrard said he was optimistic for 2022 with the peak number of cases expected to come because the “substantial wave” was happening earlier than predicted.

He said experts were unsure what would follow the peak and whether subsequent waves of infections would follow.

A man in his 50s is in a stable condition in ICU with the Delta variant.

Dr Gerrard said the man had received two doses of the vaccine.

“Even if you’re vaccinated it is possible to get quite sick,” he said.

There are 11,697 active cases in Queensland.

There are 2227 people being cared for in-home and 126 people in hospital.

Queensland’s fully-vaccinated rate has reached 86.3 per cent.

Dr Gerrard said Queensland would continue to see Covid-19 cases increase across the state in January.

He said testing queues would become less busy but acknowledged there was still a shortage of rapid antigen tests.

Dr Gerrard said people would still need to get a PCR test if they were ill.

“If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, no matter how mild, the test to have is a PCR,” he said.

Dr Gerrard said early projections based on the current level of hospitalisations suggested Queensland’s hospitals could cope with an increase in cases.

There are 193 health staff infected with Covid-19 and 165 are in quarantine because they are a close contact.

Dr Gerrard said the “most useful number to look at” was the cases in intensive care.

“Most of those hospitalised are not particularly sick,” he said.

He said there was consideration about whether to limit visitors to aged-care facilities “in the coming weeks”, but no decision had been made.

Queensland was “not going backwards” he said.

He said people should make their own decisions whether to book an international holiday in 2022.