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Health authorities have begun widespread testing at the Cairns Hospital, after five cases of COVID-19 were linked to a lab within the hospital precinct.
Key points:
- Dr Young says a worker contracted COVID-19 in the lab a month ago
- Four other people in the lab contracted it from that worker
- Extensive testing is now underway at Cairns Hospital
A technician from South East Queensland is believed to have been infected with the virus when he flew to Cairns to conduct maintenance work at the laboratory about a month ago.
Four other workers within the facility have now tested positive for the virus after serology testing which detects antibodies.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeannette Young said there was no evidence the cluster was linked to samples being handled at the facility.
"One month ago, a technician went up from Brisbane to Cairns and then, when he returned back to Brisbane, was tested positive for COVID-19," Dr Young said.
"Some initial contract tracing was done in the lab, which didn't confirm anything.
"Then last week, we had one of the lab workers, who's worked in that lab, test positive.
"We were unsure where that lab worker actually contracted that infection.
"We now have confirmation that it was in the lab, because overnight, I received the serology results for three people who had been in that lab, who had been infected, had the infection and have recovered.
"But it's clear that they got it from that initial person, and therefore, this latest person got it through that process.
"We're now doing further work to make sure that there are no other unwell staff members or patients in the Cairns Hospital."
Dr Young said extensive testing was being conducted within the hospital and was being offered to anyone in the community with symptoms.
"That's important, because we want to make sure that we don't have any ongoing community spread in Cairns," she said.
Dr Young said the result was confirmed via a new test being performed in Queensland.
"It's very important that across the whole community in Cairns, that anyone who is unwell with any respiratory symptoms — so cough, sore throat, or shortness of breath — that you immediately go and see your own GP or go to the fever clinic that's there in Cairns, to be tested," she said.
However, Cairns Hospital anaesthetist and Together Queensland senior vice-president, Dr Sandy Donald, said there was confusion about how the staff screening process would be implemented.
"We need to look at the evidence, try and work out is screening worthwhile? What sort of screening? How is it done? And what do you do if someone has a fever or a slight cough?" he said.
"It can be very disruptive and we could end up with two-thirds of the staff locked up at home without good reason."
He said Cairns Hospital staff were concerned about the cluster and called for better communication from Queensland Health.
"There are a lot of staff who seem not to have been informed, so we will talk to the management about that communication process," Dr Donald said.
"We are very concerned about vulnerable employees — there are certainly quite a number of employees who could get very sick and die if they get the disease."
Six more COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Queensland overnight, taking the state's case tally to 1,024.
A total of 87,000 people have so far been tested for COVID-19 in Queensland, and testing is continuing at the rate of about 1,500 a day.
Brisbane dawn service live stream
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland civic leaders would hold a small Anzac Day dawn service on Saturday streamed live because it would not be open to public attendance.
"We will be laying a wreath individually, there will be the national anthem and there will be a pool camera and a last post," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"I hope everyone is understanding but we did want to make sure there was a commemorative process for Anzac Day, a very small but symbolic gesture that the people of Queensland are recognising the fallen."
Queensland RSL chairman Tony Ferris said Queenslanders could participate by standing at the front of their homes at 6:00am on the day.
"This will be a very different year for us this year but it will be a very symbolic year because I think this will encapsulate every Australian and get every Australian involved," he said.
Mr Ferris said the RSL would stream the dawn service live from its website.
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