Queensland authorities have refuted reports of a possible COVID-19 protocol breach after a woman infected with the highly infectious UK strain left quarantine to accompany her father to hospital.
According to The Courier-Mail, the alleged incident involved a woman staying in Brisbane’s Grand Chancellor Hotel after arriving from Lebanon with her father on New Year’s Day.
The pair had been quarantining at the facility, where the worrying new strain has been detected in six people, forcing the transfer of 129 guests on Wednesday.
However Queensland Health has issued a statement denying any breach occurred.
“All protocols were followed in this case,” it says.
“Guests were transported from and returned to the hotel by Qld Ambulance Service while in appropriate PPE.
“The suggestion the person caught a ride-share back to the hotel is untrue. Full and proper COVID-19 PPE protocols were followed while these guests were in the hospital.”
Meanwhile, the Queensland government’s call for a national network of outback quarantine camps has been backed by experts but critics warn that it’s shifting the problem rather than solving it.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will ask national cabinet to consider outback quarantine camps for international travellers to protect the wider population from the highly contagious UK coronavirus strain.
She says it’s clearly too risky to quarantine travellers in capital cities anymore and quarantining people in vacant outback mining camps is a “rational option”.
“It’s a matter for state and territories but I think with this new strain we have to put all options on the table and these are sensible, rational options,” the premier said.
Jane Halton, from the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission, said the plan had advantages and disadvantages, which needed to be carefully weighed.
She said allowing people fresh air and to exercise were good, but proximity to a nearby hospital and transportation from international airports to quarantine were another consideration.
“We should have all options on the table, I think that is wise, but we do need to think about what it takes to deliver good quality, safe and effective quarantine and make sure that any option stacks up against those criteria,” she told ABC TV.
Former World Health Organisation epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman said there were already ample mining camps, former military bases and detention centres like Christmas Island, which could be used.
He said concerns about logistics and medical care at remote camps could be easily allayed if the federal government deployed the Australian Defence Force.
“Let’s face it they can set up field hospitals that can cover just about any emergency. So I think a lot of these questions about ‘Oh we have to have access to a trauma centre’ can all be handled without any problems at all,” Prof Esterman told Sky News.
Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli warned that setting up quarantine facilities in the outback was merely shifting a problem rather than dealing with problems with the system.
He said instead the investigation needs to find how the outbreak occurred in a Brisbane hotel so the system can be fixed.
“It doesn’t matter if people are being held in a hotel room in Brisbane or a mining camp in Moranbah, it’s the same problem,” Mr Crisafulli told AAP in a statement.
“The system must be watertight. Right now it isn’t working, and that worries me.”
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your jurisdiction’s restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080. News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus.
Please check the relevant guidelines for your state or territory: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, ACT, Tasmania.
