Queensland finds ANOTHER new case of coronavirus as Brisbane mystery cluster spreads – as 18 of the tradie’s close contacts are sent for urgent testing
- A new case of the UK strain of Coronovirus discovered in Brisbane on Saturday
Queensland has recorded another new case of coronavirus in the community, a day after a 26-year-old tradie tested positive – despite having no links to hotel quarantine.
Officials announced on Friday a landscaper from Stafford in the city’s north tested positive to the highly contagious UK strain of Covid, sparking exposure alerts for venues including a busy Westfield shopping centre.
Saturday case is a close contact of the landscaper who is a friend from a different household.
Genomic sequencing shows the 26-year-old’s infection is linked to the strain which infected a doctor in hotel quarantine two weeks ago – but officials so far have no idea how it jumped between the two, who are not known to have ever met.
Crowds on an escalator at Carindale Shopping Centre in Brisbane – one of the venues in the city listed as potential exposure sites to Covid-19
Shinobi Ramen Noodle shop at Westfield shopping centre, Carindale, Brisbane, is one of the new covid hotspots from 12 noon to 2.16pm on March 20
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday he is confident in Queensland’s ‘strong’ contact tracing system.
Some other Australian states have responded to the case of highly contagious strain by reintroducing travel restrictions.
New South Wales has shut its border to anyone who has been to the exposure sites listed by Queensland Health and if already in the state they are required to get tested and self-isolate.
Tasmania has also closed their border to anyone who has been to the listed exposure sites within 14 days of wanting to travel to the state.
Victoria has designated the Brisbane and Moreton regions as an ‘orange zone’ requiring those wanting to travel to get a permit and a Covid test.
In Western Australia, anyone who has arrived from Queensland since March 20 or who has been to the hotspot locations in the last 14 days must self-isolate and get tested.
Before his positive test the man visited venues across Brisbane over a number of days since last Friday.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Saturday repeated urgent calls for anyone who was in any part of Westfield Carindale shopping centre from 12 noon to 2.16pm on Saturday, March 20, to immediately isolate and get tested.
The landscaper while infectious had visited venues across Brisbane including a Bunnings in his own suburb of Stafford (pictured)
The KFC drive-thru at Everton Park, Brisbane has been put on the hotspot list for only 5 minutes from 7.55pm to 8pm on March 22
Also anyone who went to Mamma’s Italian Restaurant, Redcliffe, on March 21 from 12.40pm to 3.10pm should immediately quarantine for 14 days and get tested.
Hotspots added to the alert list on Friday evening include Shinobi Ramen Noodle Shop and Kmart at Westfield Shopping Centre Carindale on Saturday March 20 from 12 noon to 2.16pm
While at Westfield Carindale the man also visited Fresh Sensations, Harris Scarfe and Robins Kitchen and Go Vita.
KFC’s drive-thru at Everton Park has also been added to the list of low-risk venues for anybody there on Monday March 22 for the five minutes from 7.55pm to 8pm.
The Queensland outbreak has prompted Western Australia to hand down a snap quarantine rules for potentially exposed travellers to isolate and get tested.
Kmart in Carindale Westfield, Brisbane, has been added to the list of hotspots as WA imposes new restrictions of immediate quarantine for any traveller exposed during the alert times
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