Queensland on high alert after 35 suburbs around Brisbane are found to have Covid fragments in their sewage – as authorities scramble to contact 50 people who visited Melbourne airport
A health alert has been issued after 35 suburbs in Brisbane’s south were found to have Covid fragments in their sewerage.
The warning comes as health officials scramble to contact 50 people who went through Melbourne Airport’s terminal four after it was exposed to the virus.
About 800 of the 1500 Queenslanders who travelled through the terminal have been tested and returned negative results.
Most of the 1500 people have been contacted by health authorities and told to self-isolate.
The Loganholme catchment area where the infected sewerage was discovered receives sewage from dozens of suburbs including Logan Central, Meadowbrook, Springwood, Woodridge and Yarrabilba.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said residents from those suburbs should be on high alert for even the mildest symptoms.
‘It is very important people with symptoms come forward right away and get tested – now more than ever – with the new cases we are seeing in other states and the amount of interstate travel that we’ve seen over the past while,’ she said.
‘It is critical we detect any cases that we may not be aware of as quickly as possible through our testing system, to contain any potential spread.
‘We are concerned by the new variants that are emerging overseas that are more contagious than previous variants we have seen in Queensland.
‘It’s also possible that this detection relates to previous COVID-19 cases that can shed viral fragments for a couple of months after they are no longer infectious.’
Queensland recorded no new cases of Covid on Monday, with seven active cases in the state.
More to come.
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