Queensland hotel quarantine chaos as returned travellers are forced to stay ANOTHER 14 days after cleaner caught the UK’s coronavirus super-strain – as Queensland records zero new cases
- Returned travellers in isolation at a Brisbane hotel forced to quarantine again
- Hotel Grand Chancellor coronavirus cluster of UK strain has grown to six cases
- 129 returned travellers in quarantine at hotel moved to other accommodation
- 250 guests who have since left quarantine at hotel forced to do another 14 days
- Comes as Queensland recorded no new locally-acquired cases on Wednesday
Hundreds of returned travellers will be forced quarantine again after two guests staying on the same floor of a Brisbane hotel mysteriously caught the virus.
Queensland health authorities are on high alert, despite the state recording another day of zero locally-acquired coronavirus cases.
Two new cases were recorded on Wednesday, who were returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
Health authorities have grave concerns about the Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster, which has grown to six cases of the highly-contagious UK virus strain.
Almost 130 returned travellers in quarantine at the hotel will be transferred to alternative accommodation after two guests staying on the same floor mysteriously caught the virus strain.
Around 226 employees who have worked at the hotel since December 30 will be quarantined and tested
An additional 250 guests who have left quarantine since December 30 and remain in Queensland are being contacted as they must undergo another 14 days of hotel quarantine.
Guests at the Hotel Grand Chancellor will be moved to other hotels in Brisbane after the coronavirus cluster grew to six cases. Pictured are quarantined guests at Hotel Grand Chancellor on Saturday
‘We now are concerned about this cluster,’ Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk told reporter on Wednesday.
‘What we are dealing with here is something that we’ve never had to deal with before.
‘This is a new highly infectious strain. We do not want to see this getting out into the community and that’s why we have taken these precautionary steps today in the interests of the public safety.’
The six cases were linked by genomic sequencing.
‘That is new information – we received the results of the last test at 10.30pm last night – but it’s information we must act on,’ Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said.
‘This morning we are putting in place a range of extra measures for people associated with quarantine in this hotel to help reduce any risk of spread.’
Health authorities are still scrambling to work out how a hotel cleaner initially contracted the virus from a man in quarantine who had returned from the UK.
The woman’s later movements in Brisbane triggered a three-day lockdown which ended Monday night.
Dr Young said all defence force, police and maritime safety staff who were posted at the hotel were being contacted, including those who may have left Australia.
“We’ve immediately worked through the night to sort all that and have that process start first thing this morning, so it’s in place,” she said.
“So we need to just find all those people and test them.”
More than 20,615 tests were conducted on Tuesday.
Queensland currently has 26 active cases across the state.
