The junior doctor at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in the inner-city suburb of Woolloongabba had contact with COVID-19 positive patients in the early hours of March 10 and it is believed he was infectious in the community on March 11, The Courier Mail reports.It comes after COVID fragments were detected at the Bundaberg and Gibson Island wastewater treatment plants, which cover a total of 62 suburbs.The state’s chief health officer, Dr Jeanette Young, is concerned because officials are unable to determine whether the fragments contain an overseas variant of COVID-19 or if they are from historical cases.“We are concerned by the new variants that are emerging overseas that are more contagious than previous variants we have seen in Queensland,” Dr Young said.“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.” Dr Young urged anyone with even the mildest of symptoms to come forward for testing.“Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting, and loss of taste or smell,” Dr Young said.“It is very important people with symptoms come forward right away and get tested – we can‘t be complacent, we’re still in this pandemic.“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.”The fresh concerns come a day after fragments of COVID-19 were detected at the Cairns North, Marlin Coast (Cairns), Fairfield (Brisbane South) and Mackay South plants.Those four plants cover 50 suburbs. A full list of COVID-19 testing locations, with interactive maps, can be found online.COVID-19 World NumbersPM ON VACCINE DELAY: ‘I TOTALLY REJECT THAT’Scott Morrison says he was “misunderstood” over expectations all Australians would be fully vaccinated by the end of October, saying he meant Australians would have received their first dose by then.Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy on Thursday poured cold water on the government’s aim to have all Australians vaccinated by October deadline, admitting the rollout could drag into next year. Just hours before, the prime minister said it was the government’s “hope and … expectation” the October deadline would be met.But Mr Morrison, who has repeatedly spruiked the timeline, claimed on Friday he had never said all Australians would receive both required shots by then.When asked by a reporter about the apparent inconsistencies in the government’s statements on the October time frame, Mr Morrison was adamant.“No, no you’re misunderstanding me: The first dose will be administered by the end of October. That’s what I meant,” Mr Morrison said.The reporter shot back: “When are you going to be honest with people?”“I am being, right now,” the PM retorted“The information we have been given has not been consistent,” the reporter said.“I totally reject that,” Mr Morrison said. “We were clear a month ago that the October deadline would not include the second dose.” But that comment differs to statements he made earlier in the year.The prime minister told Sky News on February 1 the government planned to “get through it all” by October, and that “we might get there even sooner”.Three days later, he told news.com.au: “By October, we anticipate that we would have worked right through the population.”But he said revelations in February the AstraZeneca jab was more effective after 12 weeks, rather than four as initially expected, had forced a recalculation.Mr Morrison said he “totally rejected” suggestions his messaging had been unclear.He claimed Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed on February 16 that administering second doses by the end of October “wouldn’t be possible”.“We were clear a month ago that the October deadline would not include the second dose,” he said.“(Greg Hunt) said that a month ago, and that’s what Professor Murphy said yesterday.”But Mr Hunt did not rule out second doses being administered by the October deadline, only saying the government would “look at what (the development) means in regards to the second dose”.He did, however, confirm that Australians could “at least” be assured of a first dose by then.Qantas CEO Alan Joyce stood alongside Mr Morrison on Thursday, saying the airliner’s assumptions were based on the assumption “we have the full adult population vaccinated” by October.“We’ve been assuming (the rollout) is working … I think the government’s plan (is) that 20 million people are vaccinated by the end of October,” he said.The government had ordered over 3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but has been stymied by supply chain issues in Europe.Mr Morrison said 300,000 doses had been distributed across Australia, with another 400,000 to go out imminently, but conceded that figure was “a lot less than we anticipated”.“That obviously has an impact on the amount of doses available in the early stages of the rollout,” he said.The government has predicted one million vaccines will be administered a week once jabs produced onshore entered circulation later this month.National Vaccine RolloutBIG STEP TO REOPENING OVERSEAS TRAVELQantas officials believe their first customer trial of a digital health passport on a flight from Germany is a major step forward in the push to get Australians travelling internationally again.The airline’s QF116 repatriation flight from Frankfurt to Darwin touched down on Friday morning, and passengers on-board were the first to trial the CommonPass digital health app.Those on-board were invited to use the CommonPass app to show their negative COVID-19 test result, but the app aims to eventually incorporate proof of vaccination.The CommonPass smartphone app, designed by Swiss-based company Commons Project Foundation, is a secure app that connects customers to certified testing labs so results can be uploaded to their phone.CommonPass assesses whether the individual’s COVID-19 test results or vaccination records come from a trusted source and satisfy the health screening requirements of a country they want to enter. CommonPass delivers a simple yes or no answer as to whether the individual meets the current entry criteria.Passengers can show border officials proof of a negative COVID test result before their flight, a requirement within 72 hours of entering Australia.Qantas successful trialled CommonPass with flight crew in February and said digital vaccine passports would help its quest to resume international travel by late October.“We want to get our international flights back in the air and our people back to work, and a digital health pass will be a key part of that,” Qantas chief customer officer Stephanie Tully said.“COVID test results and proof of vaccine will be required in many countries for quarantine-free travel, just as it has been for polio and yellow fever vaccinations in the past. “During the trial, customers travelling on our international repatriation flights (will be) invited to download the CommonPass app on their device.“Longer term we’d like to integrate the technology with our existing Qantas app so that our customers can manage all parts of their journey in the one place.“Ultimately we’re focused on ensuring that the process will be as seamless as possible for our customers to share this information so they can travel internationally again.”Commons Project Foundation chief executive Paul Meyer said the CommonPass app’s trial with travellers repatriating to Australia would pave the way for Australians to leave the country later this year.“As we initiate the upcoming trials with Qantas, we aim to provide Australians with a secure, private and trusted experience as they return to their home country,” Mr Meyer said.“We look forward to supporting the efforts of Qantas, the Australian government and the nation’s healthcare system to safely reopen the country to international travel.”Qantas will also trial another digital solution to COVID-19 travel, the IATA Travel Pass.Air New Zealand will test the IATA app on flights between Auckland and Sydney for three weeks in April.NED-1439-Flu-v-CoronavirusPREMIER’S PARENTS’ DIG AT GLADYSThe NSW parents of West Australian Premier Mark McGowan did not mince words as they defended his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking a dig at their own state leader in the process.Mary and Dennis McGowan drove to WA in a caravan, arriving this week from Coffs Harbour just in time for Saturday’s state election.Mr McGowan on Friday took his elderly parents to tourist attraction Kings Park, where they told reporters they were extremely proud of the way he had dealt with coronavirus.The couple even said their son had done a better job than NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian.“Much better,” Dennis said and pointed to “the results”.The couple said they rarely saw West Australian news in NSW, but their son — who has continued to make headlines about the hard border — had been on television during the pandemic.Dennis said they tried to “avoid any political discussion” at the Coffs Harbour RSL.Mary then humorously added: “We only go for the meat raffle.”The couple, who last saw Mr McGowan in January 2020 for Dennis’s 80th birthday, also said they had no difficulty getting across the state border with the G2G pass.Mr McGowan joked his parents liked Western Australia better than NSW, but when he was asked by a reporter if that was true, Dennis paused then said he would “pass on that one”.“Let me answer that,” Mr McGowan interjected, drawing laughs.Mr McGowan’s parents joined him on election night in 2017, when Labor ended Colin Barnett’s reign, and said they were feeling more confident this time.The Premier said he was looking forward to spending more time with his parents after the election.“I don’t know what’s going to happen on Saturday but after that, normally, it will be busy whatever happens, but certainly we’re going to make sure we have some lunches and dinners,” he said.“Mum and dad are going to go and visit the museum today and I think they are going to take the kids to the zoo.”Labor is expected to be easily re-elected on Saturday, with Liberal leader Zak Kirkup already conceding his party cannot win.He could also lose his own seat of Dawesville, indicating he would not return to politics if that happened.
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