Queensland has reported no new community transmission of coronavirus after a doctor became infected in Brisbane.
She tested positive on Friday after working at Princess Alexandra Hospital and visiting four venues in the city’s south on Thursday.
The state government has tested about 230 of the 400 people who may have come into contact with her, but all have come back negative.
“That’s great news and we’re feeling a little bit relieved today,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters on Tuesday.
As a precaution, a lockdown Brisbane’s hospitals, aged care facilities and disability providers has been extended for another 72 hours.
Meanwhile, guests at the Hotel Grand Chancellor will find out on Wednesday if their quarantine will be extended again.
Two guests staying in separate rooms on level one at that hotel became infected last week.
One of them passed the virus onto the other, despite having no apparent physical contact, and later to the doctor.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Sonya Barrett said CCTV analysis shows no evidence of a quarantine breach at the hotel.
She said the first guest may be a “superspreader”, who is a lot more contagious than typical patients.
“Some people very readily transmit the virus due to a number of factors, not just anyone,” Dr Barrett said.
All guests who have been staying on level one have had their quarantine extended for 14 days from March 9.
Staff who worked at the hotel between March 5-9 were tested on Monday and every guest who departed after March 1 has been ordered to isolate and get tested.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said 21,861 people have had their first vaccine dose as of Tuesday morning.
She said every person in group 1A, including frontline healthcare and quarantine workers, and aged care residents, will be fully vaccinated by March 30.
Queensland’s first vaccine hub on the Gold Coast, and hubs in the Torres Strait, have also started to vaccinate people in group 1B.
Ms D’Ath said the Pfizer vaccine can’t be stored after being defrosted, so Queensland Health has been giving doses to other workers if frontline workers aren’t immediately unavailable.
“No one in 1A is missing out or having their booking cancelled to give it to someone else,” she told reporters.
“They’re all arriving, they’re getting vaccinated, but we are having some excess at the end of the day that we’re making sure we don’t throw it in the bin.”
She said group 1B will be fully vaccinated by mid-June, but she dampened speculation that every Queenslander could be fully vaccinated by October.
Ms D’Ath said that target wasn’t possible with supplies from the Commonwealth only set to ramp up in April.
“Now let’s be clear, realistically that’s for the first dose, not for being fully vaccinated,” she said.
“We are seeing around the world, I don’t think we’ve got to one per cent of the world population yet that is fully vaccinated. This takes time.”
Dr Barrett urged anyone coming to Queensland who has been in any NSW locations that an infected quarantine worker visited in that state to call 13HEALTH and follow the advice.
Queensland reported two new cases in hotel quarantine on Tuesday, unlinked to the Grand Chancellor, with 37 active cases in the state.
Be the first to comment