Queensland’s border with regional New South Wales and Victoria will remain open, but the Chief Health Officer says she is closely monitoring the “very concerning” coronavirus clusters there.
Key points:
- A second case of the South African variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Queensland
- The man travelled from South Africa via the UK and Qatar and is in hospital
- There are no changes to current border restrictions with NSW and Victoria
Victoria recorded two new locally acquired cases today, while another three people tested positive in NSW.
Queensland declared Greater Sydney a hotspot in late December, with the border now closed to anyone who has been in the region since December 11.
Queenslanders returning from the hotspot zone can only enter the state by air and must go into hotel quarantine when they arrive.
In a statement, Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said she was monitoring the interstate outbreaks.
Victoria is closing its border with NSW at 11:59pm tonight (Friday).
Second case of South African variant
Queensland Health said a second case of the South African variant of COVID-19, which is thought to be more infectious, had been detected in an overseas arrival.
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Dr Young said the man in his 50s had returned from South Africa via the United Kingdom and Qatar and was now in hospital.
“This detection further highlights the importance of our hotel quarantine policy, especially for overseas travellers,” she said.
“Cases are rising at a rapid rate internationally and new variants like this one may be difficult to contain in the community.
“Our best approach is ensuring potential cases are detected where they pose no risk to other Queenslanders.”
Earlier this week, Queensland authorities announced a woman had become the first person in Australia found to have been infected with the variant known as 501.V2.
Catch up on the main COVID-19 news from January 1 with our coronavirus blog.
Wastewater concerns
Dr Young said routine sewage testing had detected viral fragments in wastewater treatment plants in Bundaberg and Elanora on the Gold Coast.
She said the results in samples taken on December 30 were “particularly concerning” given the cases in Victoria and NSW.
“These positive test results are concerning as they may indicate either a recovered case or undetected active cases living in or visiting the area,” she said.
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