Victorian quarantine case carried UK strain to Qld

The Department of Health and Human Services also revealed one new infection in returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.There are 40 active cases of COVID-19 across the state. There were 28,337 tests undertaken in the past 24 hours.VIC QUARANTINE CASE CARRIED UK VIRUS TO QLDA woman from Victoria’s quarantine program has carried the highly-contagious UK variant of the coronavirus into Queensland after flying into the state on a Jetstar flight on January 5. Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeanette Young said state health authorities were notified on late Friday about the case by Victoria.The woman arrived into Victoria on December 26 after flying in from the UK and was tested in hotel quarantine where she was found to be positive. She was then isolated and did 10 days of quarantine before she was cleared of her symptoms and was allowed to leave Victoria and return to visit her family in Queensland.“She flew on a Jetstar flight, arriving here in Brisbane late on 5 January. We are just confirming the details of which flight because there were a number of Jetstar flights that evening,” Dr Young said on Saturday morning. Then she travelled up to the outskirts of Maleny where she remains at her parents’ home. “Her parents have been tested and we‘re working through any close contacts that need to be looked at there,” Dr Young said.It comes after Queensland has recorded no new virus cases as residents in Greater Brisbane woke to the first morning of its three day lockdown as the state scrambles to contain a mutant strain of COVID-19.

SYDNEY FAMILY TESTS POSITIVE TO MUTANT VIRUSA family-of-four in NSW hotel quarantine have tested positive to the worrying South African mutation of COVID-19, NSW Health has revealed.Like the UK strain, which is believed to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than earlier version of the virus, the South African strain is passed on at an alarming rate.Since November 30, NSW Health has confirmed it has also detected six cases of the UK strain of coronavirus with two of those still in isolation.
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WHAT BRISBANE LOCKDOWN MEANS FOR VICTORIANSAfter the Queensland government ordered a three-day lockdown of the Brisbane area, Victoria’s Department of Health on Friday afternoon warned any Victorians who visited or travelled through the local government areas of Brisbane City Council, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Redland, Ipswich or Logan City councils since January 2 not to leave those areas until at least Monday.Those who have arrived in Victoria from these areas since January 2 should get tested and remain at home or their place of accommodation until Monday, when a further assessment will be made.All Victorians in these areas are being advised to follow the guidance of the Queensland government.Any Victorian with plans to travel to these areas should cancel them.The advice comes after National Cabinet declared Queensland a national hotspot after the discovery of a UK variant of COVID-19 in a cleaner at a Brisbane quarantine hotel.

SUPER STRAIN WARNIGNS FOR TRAVELLES TO VICTORIAThousands who travelled to Victoria from southeast Queensland in the past week have been ordered to get tested and isolate this weekend as Brisbane ramps up efforts to contain a coronavirus super strain.
The local government areas of Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands on Friday began a three-day lockdown as the Palaszczuk gov­ernment jumped on a potential outbreak sparked by a hotel quarantine cleaner. The region has been declared a coronavirus hotspot and interstate travel in and out of the area is restricted to those with exemptions.More than 4000 Victorians stuck in NSW are awaiting permits to come home and those in Brisbane have been asked to stay put for a few days.Inside Victoria, anyone who has visited the hotspot areas since January 2 and is already in the state must also get a test and isolate until Monday when there would be further advice from the state government.Some travellers said they had been free to leave Melbourne Airport with no interaction with health authorities or police.Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday welcomed Queensland’s decision to lock down Brisbane after a case of the more infectious British coronavirus strain was confirmed in the city.“This isn’t any ordinary case. This is a very special case and one that requires us to treat things quite differently until we know more,” he said.Victorians planning to go to Queensland in coming days have been urged to cancel.Premier Daniel Andrews said there was a degree of confidence around the Brisbane situation because the lockdown had been limited to the city and not the entire state.There was a feeling of relief for travellers who touched down in Melbourne Airport from Brisbane on Friday.Brisbane couple Teagan Lowe and Darcy Andrews said they felt “incredibly lucky” to make it to Melbourne.“It was crazy. Our flight was at 8.50am and we got the news at 8.30am that Brisbane was going into lockdown,” Mr Andrews, 35, said.Sam Walters, 37, was glad to make it back to Melbourne after spending Christmas in Queensland.“There were announcements made on the flight about protocols, like that it was mandatory to wear a mask in Victoria, but there was no one at the gate,” he said.
kieran.rooney@news.com.au