Advertisement

Qld extends virus restrictions as ‘precautionary measure’

The Princess Alexandra Hospital went into lockdown after the doctor's case emerged.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital went into lockdown after the doctor's case emerged. Photo: ABC News:/Stefan Lowe

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says there is no sign of community transmission linked to a COVID-infected Brisbane doctor so far, as more than half of her close contacts have returned negative test results.

It comes as the lockdown in hospitals, prisons, aged care and disability centres in the Greater Brisbane region have been extended for another 72 hours.

Speaking at the Gold Coast University Hospital, Ms Palaszczuk said the extension was a precautionary measure.

“Be patient for another 72 hours, just while we finalise all of this data and get the test results in,” she said.

Health authorities have been urgently testing hundreds of close contacts linked to the doctor who tested positive for the British strain of coronavirus last week after working at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.

Authorities have also been investigating whether a returned traveller infected another guest while in hotel quarantine at Brisbane’s Hotel Grand Chancellor.

The hotel was sent into a 72-hour lockdown on Sunday, with guests unable to leave or enter the building.

Queensland recorded no locally acquired cases and conducted 7,000 tests in the past 24 hours.

-more to come

-ABC

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.