Quarantine hotel worker tests positive to COVID-19 in Brisbane
A worker in a Queensland quarantine hotel that tested positive to coronavirus has contracted the…
Urgent genome testing revealed tonight the woman – employed as a casual cleaner at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane- has the latest mutation of coronavirus currently causing concern across the UK and prompting Britain’s latest lockdown.
The testing has sparked concerns of an outbreak as the woman caught public transport and went shopping before she developed symptoms and got tested yesterday.
It is unclear exactly how she contracted the virus, but a child returning from the UK was one of Queensland’s cases in hotel quarantine today.
She lives in Algester in Brisbane’s south.
“This cleaner did everything right,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said earlier.
“She developed the symptoms yesterday and was tested yesterday.”
Queensland Health will ban visits to hospitals and aged care facilities in Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich.
The premier urged anyone in Queensland who has any symptom to get tested immediately.
“The key messages are if you are sick, please go and get tested,” she said.
“We want all of our community to be safe in Queensland.”
Dr Young said work is underway to trace the woman’s movements.
“We have been working with her through the night and she has been fantastic and cooperated fully with us,” Dr Young said.
“So we have been working through with her where she has been during her infectious period.”
“She did one shift at the Grand Chancellor on the 2nd of January so we’ve been working with the hotel who have been very, very helpful with anyone who’s been in that hotel to make sure we’ve covered all bases there,” Dr Young said.
“We’ve then spoken to her about where she has been in the community since then.”
Anyone who was in these locations at these times is being urged to get tested and isolate immediately.
The woman caught a train from Altandi Station to Roma Street at 7am on Saturday 2 January.
The woman caught a train from Central Station to Altandi Station at 4pm on Saturday 2 January
Woolworths, Calamvale North from 11am to 12pm on Sunday January 3.
Coles, Sunnybank Hills from 7.30am to 8am on Tuesday 5 January.
Newsagency, Sunnybank Hills Shopping Town from 8am to 8.15am 5 January.
Dr Young said its likely more locations will be added to the list as more of the woman’s contacts are traced.
Residents in the Sunnybank Hills, Algester and Calamvale are also being urged to come forward and get tested.
Queensland Health is adding more testing sites and increasing hours at clinics.
The locations and updated times will be listed on the Queensland Government Coronavirus website.
More than 15,000 tests were conducted in the last 24-hour period.
