Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[Lynda2475]

Good on the NT for revisiting the Byron decision to make it consistent with Brisbane decision, thus removing the inconsistencies:

NT revokes hotspot declaration for Byron Shire​

The NT government has now revoked its hotspot declaration for the Byron Shire, just a few hours after it did the same to six areas in Queensland.

But there are still some measures in place for people who've recently travelled from Northern New South Wales.

Anyone who has arrived in the NT from Byron Bay since March 26 or Ballina, the Tweed Shire or Lismore after March 28 must isolate and get tested within 72 hours.

 

[Lynda2475]

No change of mind for Tas, according to the ABC:

Bad news for Queenslanders hoping to go to Tasmania this weekend ​

Restrictions will remain in place on people travelling to Tasmania from the Greater Brisbane area.

The declaration of five Local Government Areas of Brisbane, Logan, Moreton Bay, Ipswich and Redlands as high-risk locations remains in force.

This decision will be reviewed in 48 hours following ongoing assessment of the outbreak investigation and risk to Tasmania.

Anyone who has spent time in any of these LGAs in the past 14 days will not be permitted to enter Tasmania unless exempted as an Essential Traveller.

Any affected travellers, including returning Tasmanians, will need to apply to the Deputy State Controller to enter the state via the G2G PASS system.

If allowed to enter they will be required to quarantine for 14 days at suitable premises. Anyone without suitable premises will be required to enter government quarantine, and fees may apply.

Further premises have been added to the Tasmanian list of high-risk premises in Queensland and New South Wales.

People recently arrived in Tasmania from either Queensland or New South Wales should check the list at Travel alert | Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

This list is being updated regularly.

Anyone who has been at any of these premises at the specified times should call the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738.

Anyone who has any symptoms, even mild, should contact the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738 to arrange a test.

Post automatically merged: Apr 1, 2021

Good ole SA still has hard border with Qld for Easter.

Yep. For those wanting details, ABC says:

And, it seems travel to South Australia isn't going to happen if you're from parts of Queensland, either​

The COVID19 Transition Committee met this afternoon and based on the Health advice, the State Coordinator has determined there will be no changes to the current Emergency Management Directions in South Australia at this time.

The situation interstate will be monitored over the Easter long weekend with a Transition Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning.

All existing directions, frequently asked questions and other information can be found here: https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/emergency-declarations

 

[Must...Fly!]

Sounds like QLD health has discovered the missing link via serology testing - nurse who treated the same positive patient as the doctor who was previously positive. She was otherwise totally asymptomatic.

That is good news, but seems to display the weakness is not testing those who are regularly in contact with COVID-19

 

[Lynda2475]

So Queensland just announced another historical case (infective period 10-16th March) who is a nurse who worked with the same patient that the infected Doctor did. She is the partner of the one of the men connected to the Landscape gardener (either his brother or one of his colleagues or friends). So she is the missing link (as direct contact with both the positive arrival and the men in the cluster) and it was never the brother of the Landscape Gardener as a certain person here kept claiming was proven.

I am now vindicated, as there always needed to be a direct missing link(either person or venue) between the patient/doctor and the cluster and that is now known.

This new nurse had also not been vaccinated. But what is a concern, they found her by testing the known cases in Landscape part of the cluster, not by testing all hospital staff who had been in contact with the patient that had infected the doctor.

Would it not have been common sense to test all staff who had treated the patient who infected the Doctor? They are now calling him a superspreader. All people woking the covid ward be being tested daily anyway just like HQ workers.

They also must have known this yesterday, as they started publishing exposure sites yesterday which had dates much older than 2 weeks, quite a few from 16th March.

 

[jakeseven7]

Sounds like QLD health has discovered the missing link via serology testing - nurse who treated the same positive patient as the doctor who was previously positive. She was otherwise totally asymptomatic.

That is good news, but seems to display the weakness is not testing those who are regularly in contact with COVID-19

And if QLD had proper procedures and decent contact tracing this would have been picked up long before now. Has really laid bare how far behind we are compared to VIC and NSW. I hope our CHO has learned a lesson from this.

 

[Must...Fly!]

And if QLD had proper procedures and decent contact tracing this would have been picked up long before now. Has really laid bare how far behind we are compared to VIC and NSW. I hope our CHO has learned a lesson from this.

She seems rather...I don't want to say pig-headed as that's not quite right. But overly confident in the current processes. Hopefully that's just a front - I do get a distinctly political rather than medical vibe when she talks.

 

[Lynda2475]

I rarely listen to JY at Qld pressers but being a public holiday I caught the whole thing this morning, she kept saying how hard it must have been for the nurse to share where she had been. Why? Under public health order should have been checking in everywhere by QR code and its not that hard to remember the few friend/family visits outside that.

Unless you have been doing a bunch of illegal stuff, or delierately not checking in, divilging your movements to health dept shouldnt be an issue - not difficult.

As the case was found by serology they cant ever link it genomically, but her job makes it obvious unlike when people were trying to say it was the landscapers brother.

 

[Pushka]

I rarely listen to JY at Qld pressers but being a public holiday I caught the whole thing this morning, she kept saying how hard it must have been for the nurse to share where she had been. Why? Under pubic health order should have been checking in everywhere by QR code and its not that hard to remember the few friend/family visits outside that.

Unless you have been doign a bunch of illegal stuff, or delierately not checkin in, divilging your movements to health dept shouldnt be an issue - not difficult.

As the case was found by serology they cant ever link it genomically, but her job makes it obvious unlike when people were trying to say it was the landscapers brother.

Shades of SA's pizza guy and his story.

 

[Lynda2475]

No cases in NSW today!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

and it was never the brother of person here kept claiming was proven.

I never stated it was proven. I deliberately just posted quotes from Dr Young who claimed it was highly likely etc

I also wrote:

""Now they could be 100% incompetent, but have had several days now to have reviewed their position and they have not varied, and so the presumption is that they have good reasons for their statements. ""

So my presumption on them actually having good reasons for their claims was unfounded, and so I will now go with that she is incompetent.

And so yes you were correct about the missing link and Dr Young's published statements seemingly had no real basis for her to have made the claims that she did.

 

[drron]

The real problem in QLD is that it is now 3 nurses and a junior doctor from the PA's Infectious diseases ward that have tested positive for Covid.Why isn't Dr Young looking into that rather than being chuffed that they have found the missing link.

 

[Pushka]

The real problem in QLD is that it is now 3 nurses and a junior doctor from the PA's Infectious diseases ward that have tested positive for Covid.Why isn't Dr Young looking into that rather than being chuffed that they have found the missing link.

Because we like to keep reinventing the wheel? Make new discoveries that Joe Blow on the street would have presumed were already happening? Like testing of people directly working with Covid positive people and ensuring they are vaccinated? Like ensuring security had to wear PPE? Like ensuring that people in quarantine hotels wouldn't be working several jobs? Like ensuring that people working in the quarantine hotels were regularly tested....such a couple of thoughts.

 

[justinbrett]

The other thing is Queensland has a policy of moving every positive case to hospital regardless of severity (or even if the patient is asymptomatic).

They adopted the strict daily testing for those working in hotels but failed to realise they had moved the risk from the hotels to the hospitals. If you’re going to run it that way, then the hospital workers need to be subject to the same testing regime as the hotel workers.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Was talking to Dr FM earlier today and she thought moving everyone into hospital was a risky strategy. She felt if they were going to do that they should adopt what was done in London, where staff self tested using the rapid test twice each week. It’s not perfect but low cost and easy to do.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Was talking to Dr FM earlier today and she thought moving everyone into hospital was a risky strategy. She felt if they were going to do that they should adopt what was done in London, where staff self tested using the rapid test twice each week. It’s not perfect but low cost and easy to do.

I think from memory that in Vic for such surveillance testing they do the less accurate spit test daily, and the full nasal about weekly as they considered nasal daily to be too damaging on the nasal passage.

With abattoir and warehouse workers who had close working conditions they opted to test a rolling % each shift.

 

[jakeseven7]

Because we like to keep reinventing the wheel? Make new discoveries that Joe Blow on the street would have presumed were already happening? Like testing of people directly working with Covid positive people and ensuring they are vaccinated? Like ensuring security had to wear PPE? Like ensuring that people in quarantine hotels wouldn't be working several jobs? Like ensuring that people working in the quarantine hotels were regularly tested....such a couple of thoughts.

Other states already doing this, QLD, WA and the other laggard states don’t need to reinvent the wheel they just need to observe what other states are doing.... not that hard...

 

[jakeseven7]

One more for QLD, at least it’s linked.

Lots more criticism of QLD CHO and Health Dept handling of the whole mess.

——

One new community acquired COVID-19 case detected in Queensland​

One new community acquired COVID-19 case detected in Queensland connected to existing clusters

Queensland detects one new locally acquired case of COVID-19 of a close contact of one of the existing clusters that saw Greater Brisbane locked down earlier this week.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Pushka]

One more for QLD, at least it’s linked.

Lots more criticism of QLD CHO and Health Dept handling of the whole mess.

——

One new community acquired COVID-19 case detected in Queensland​

One new community acquired COVID-19 case detected in Queensland connected to existing clusters

Queensland detects one new locally acquired case of COVID-19 of a close contact of one of the existing clusters that saw Greater Brisbane locked down earlier this week.

www.abc.net.au

One more is enough to scare off SA.

 

[I love to travel]

One more is enough to scare off SA.

Yes parents are meant to be in Brisbane with me this weekend looking at my new house. They have appointments next week in Adelaide that have been planned for ages so can't quarantine for 14 days. Hoping all is resolved in time for the AFF Adelaide dinner

 

[jase05]

From my experience in Tassie so far the virus doesn’t exist. Next to no QR compliance and some places don’t even have the codes. I downloaded the Tas app and check in where I can and I’ve copped some strange looks and at a couple of venues we were told that we don’t need to check in