6 cases of UK COVID strain in Brisbane
SIX cases of the highly infectious UK strain of COVID-19 have now been linked to a Brisbane hotel quarantine facility, prompting authorities to take extraordinary measures to keep any further outbreak under control.
While Queensland recorded no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 on Wednesday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed the Hotel Grand Chancellor was now considered a cluster.
It comes after a hotel quarantine worker contracted the virus and infected her partner, as confirmed on Tuesday.
The strain had already been detected in a traveller who had returned from the UK on December 30, and then in his partner.
The cases have since been genomically linked to two people who tested positive in the hotel on Tuesday after returning from Lebanon.
Ms Palaszczuk said as a precaution, the remaining 129 guests were being moved to other hotels to undergo another 14 days of quarantine.
“… 226 people who worked in the hotel since December 30 are going to be contacted and they will go into quarantine and get tested,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“Once again, (as a) precaution … 250 quarantined guests who have left the hotel since December 30 are now currently being contacted. They will be quarantined and tested.”
She said no new guests have gone into the Grand Chancellor since January 7.
Those in quarantine who are being moved will not be asked to pay for their time at the Grand Chancellor or at their new hotel.
Ms Palaszczuk said a “phenomenal” 20,615 tests were conducted in the last testing period.