Brisbane was on high alert after a new community case of Covid-19 was detected. Photo / 123RF
Brisbane was on high alert after a new community case of Covid-19 was detected. Photo / 123RF
Queensland has recorded one new locally transmitted coronavirus case in the past 24 hours, with health officials now confident they have found the missing link at the centre of the latest outbreak.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today confirmed the latest case was the brother of the 26-year-old man who tested positive earlier in the week, prompting health officials to announce they are now confident that they have identified the source of Brisbane's new Covid-19 cluster.
Genomic testing confirms that the new case is the more-infectious UK strain linked to another cluster at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital from earlier in the month.
"We believe [today's case] is probably the person responsible for transmitting the infection to [the first case]," Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young told reporters.
Health officials have been scrambling to find the source of the latest outbreak, after the 26-year-old and his friend, who also contracted the virus, visited several venues across Brisbane while they were potentially contagious.
The places include bars, breweries and shops, including a large Westfield and an inner city grocery store.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Photo / Getty Images
Lockdown averted for now
Queenslanders who feared another lockdown in the state breathed a collective sigh of relief today with the announcement that officials had found the likely transmission link of the new Brisbane cluster.
That means another snap lockdown isn't happening, at least not right now, unlike the last outbreak in Brisbane earlier this year. In January, a single case of the UK variant set events in motion that led to a snap three-day lockdown in the state.
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said she felt differently about the situation this time around. "The reason we locked down [in January] was because that was the very, very first case of B117, this very contagious variant, in the country," she told reporters today. "So that's why I recommended that we needed to, while we worked out what was going on. And we just didn't quite understand it, know what we needed to do."
Young said the state's experience with the new variant in recent months has improved health officials' ability to handle the outbreak. However, she cautioned, the situation could change and another lockdown could be on the cards if things go wrong. She urged residents to wear masks indoors, to respect capacity rules in public venues, maintain physical distancing and get tested if they felt sick.
Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young. Photo / Getty Images
Reports of infected person hosting a party with up to 25 people
There were fears Brisbane residents would be forced into another lockdown after reports the friend of the original case in the new cluster had hosted a party with up to 25 people after he had been told to isolate.
Officials today said that was incorrect and that only five other people were present. Police do not suspect any rules were broken.
"I think calling it a party is really inflammatory in some ways, and creates an impression that's not quite right," Queensland Police Service Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said. He indicated the majority of people present were housemates.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath defended the government's release of the incorrect information, saying it was the information officials had at the time.
"It is extremely unfortunate," she said. "But this is the information that was received from this gentleman himself, when he was first picked up by health officials. Now whether the health officials misunderstood what he said, [I don't know], I wasn't there."
