Qld goes 19 days without a community COVID case, but sewage test concern grows
Queensland authorities have notched up 19 days without a community transmitted case of COVID-19, with no new infections reported in the state on Saturday.
A total of 6139 tests were carried out in the past 24 hours, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in an update on social media, after concern from the state’s top doctor about viral fragments found in wastewater.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to “step up” and take greater responsibility for quarantining returning Australians.Credit:Jono Searle/Getty Images
In the past two weeks, traces of the virus have been found in 16 sewage catchments across the state. People who are no longer infectious may continue to shed the virus for months.
In a statement late on Friday, acting Chief Health Officer Sonya Bennett said an increasing number of detections in the state’s populated south-east corner were concerning and could indicate an undetected case.
“Cleveland and Carole Park are of particular concern as we have no hotel quarantine locations that feed into these sewage systems,” Dr Bennett said of the sites in Brisbane’s bayside and south.
She said it was “critical” that any potential cases were found and contained quickly, particularly with the new more contagious variants of the virus circulating. She urged anyone with symptoms to get tested.
Speaking on Friday to mark a year since the state declared a public health emergency in response to the pandemic, Ms Palaszczuk called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to “step up” and take greater responsibility for quarantining returning Australians.
Earlier calls for the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme to be extended for “desperate” tourism operators reliant on international visitors led NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to spark a new war of words around border restrictions.
Matt Dennien is a reporter with Brisbane Times.