3 April 2021
Queensland’s latest COVID-19 case has highlighted the strength of the state’s contact tracing regime.
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young today thanked the thousands of Queenslanders, including confirmed cases, close contacts and venue operators, who have helped contain the Greater Brisbane area’s two clusters.
Three new cases were announced today, including a locally acquired case linked to Brisbane’s northside cluster.
The man attended the Black Hops Brewery in East Brisbane at the same time as a confirmed case on 20 March.
He was identified as a close contact on 27 March and went into quarantine. His initial test while in quarantine was negative.
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said the man became unwell and was diagnosed with the UK variant when tested a second time.
“This means that he has been in quarantine for his entire infectious period and there is no risk to the public,” she said.
“This individual has been a model case. He has done everything right and as a result, he has not infected anyone else in the community.
“This instance demonstrates the value of our contact tracing network. We have been able to find a potential case, remove him from the community and prevent more people from being infected.
“It is a complex task and there is a lot of pressure but we have a wealth of skilled and experienced contact tracers up to the task.”
More than 2000 people have been in quarantine as a result of being identified as close contacts to confirmed cases in the two clusters. Over 150 locations have been identified as exposure sites for close, casual or historical contacts.
“I would like to thank those people who have helped us get on top of these clusters,” Dr Young said.
“Going into quarantine can be inconvenient, tedious and sometimes stressful but these people have done it as soon as they were asked, which has helped us contain the outbreaks.
“Likewise, venues and businesses have been incredibly helpful in providing the contact details or other information we need to track down potential cases.
“We need everyone to continue checking the locations listed on our contact tracing website and, if they have been to any of them, to take the action advised.”
For the latest updates regarding contact tracing, visit the Queensland Health website.
The latest cases take Queensland’s total to 1,488, including 74 active cases.
It is important that everyone, but especially people who were at these venues around these times, monitor themselves for even the slightest symptoms.
To manage the expected increase in demand over the weekend, Queensland Health has stood up additional testing facilities, including the Pine Rivers Assessment Clinic, the Eight Mile Plains Community Health Centre and Wynnum-Manly Community Health Centre, Gundu Pa. To find your nearest testing clinic, visit https://www.qld.gov.au/covid19testing
It is important to:
- Stay home if you are sick
- If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, get tested
- Stay 1.5 metres away from other people—think two big steps
- wash your hands with soap and water, or hand sanitiser
- Leave the location if it is crowded.
If you have any concerns about your health, contact your doctor or contact 13HEALTH (13 43 25 84).