Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[lovetravellingoz]

VicGovDH

@VicGovDH
·
2m

The two locally-acquired cases are linked to the current outbreaks. [2/2]

 

[jakeseven7]

This is beyond disgusting from the QLD CHO (again) who continues to make awful decisions all in the name of 'stopping the virus spread'.... Are you serious?! Its their child! I'm just appalled.

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Qld CHO rejects couple’s plea for early quarantine release to meet newborn​

A couple prevented from seeing their newborn baby for a week after his emergency birth have accused the Queensland government of hypocrisy after a final plea for an exemption to leave quarantine to be with their son was rejected by Queensland’s Chief Health Officer.

Traumatised first-time parents Moe and Sarah Haider, both of whom have tested negative for COVID-19 multiple times and are fully vaccinated, made the accusation on Monday after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk tweeted she had received her first Pfizer shot “in the event I need to travel to Tokyo for the Olympics”.

“I’m not a footy player, I’m not a cricket player, I’m not a musician – I’m not Dannii Minogue … I’m not bringing in a multimillion-dollar income, I’m not able to jump on a boat and go around state to state,” Mr Haider said.

“If you’ve got connections you can get things done, but otherwise you can’t. That’s what it’s become.”

Qld rejects Melbourne couple’s plea for early quarantine release to meet newborn

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer has rejected a plea from a Melbourne couple quarantining in Brisbane who have been prevented from seeing their newborn baby for a week after his emergency birth.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Pushka]

Given the most recent positive numbers are close contacts and therefore already in isolation, the addition of multiple sites of exposure released today rather suggests that those supposed to be isolating as a close contact, werent!

 

[jonboixxx]

This is beyond disgusting from the QLD CHO (again) who continues to make awful decisions all in the name of 'stopping the virus spread'.... Are you serious?! Its their child! I'm just appalled.

I'm not surprised, they have form here;

Unborn twin baby dies after delay approving mother's Queensland-NSW border exemption

Case prompts Queensland’s chief health officer to call the sheer volume of medical applications ‘unsustainable’

www.theguardian.com

Matt Golding's cartoon says it all;

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Vic Presser.

After further work the Delta variant has now been matched genomically to returned traveller in Melbourne on 8th May. Was in Melbourne HQ.

Arrived from Sri Lanka on 8th May. Released on 23 May.

24 people on the plane including crew.

Other 12 residents in HQ tested negative, as have all staff.


Serology testing and other reviews suggest that he should not have been positive after he left HQ.


Finding now also suggests (evidently genomically they are a closer match to the traveller) that the second family may have actually been the family that infected camperfamily (first family)

 

[justinbrett]

Vic Presser.

Delta now matched to returned traveller in Melbourne on 8th May. Was in Melbourne HQ.

Did not think they'd ever find it (but was confident it wasn't in NSW). What changed? The traveller result not uploaded to the DB? Partial result only that wasn't uploaded? Seems a bit strange, as MEL travellers would have been the first place they checked.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Did not think they'd ever find it (but was confident it wasn't in NSW). What changed? The traveller result not uploaded to the DB? Partial result only that wasn't uploaded? Seems a bit strange, as MEL travellers would have been the first place they checked.

They have not specified beyond that further work was done be the Institute.

Maybe samples were re-run etc. Maybe there are ways to gain results with alternative means than the standard process. which with are not normally practical on the 20% of tests that do not work.in later post.

EDIT> Now see further explanation from Prof Cheng in later post below.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Vic Presser.

Prof Cheng: 80% of positive cases do not transmit to anyone.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

They have not specified beyond that further work was done be the Institute.

Maybe samples were re-run etc. Maybe there are ways to gain results with alternative means than the standard process. which with are not normally practical on the 20% of tests that do not work.

Further detail on this now from Prof Cheng.

There were 7 swabs with no result in the time period of interest for this outbreak..

The quality control process had failed twice on this sample (ie it had been run twice), which is quite normal with 20% of results. Normally not pursued after that.

The 7 swabs were revisited and extra work done by the Institute which was able in this instance to produce a viable virus sample for this particular swab and hence was able to be sequenced.

 

[Must...Fly!]

So the question then becomes how an infectious case recovers, is released, and somehow spreads it elsewhere? Or is there a missing link? Not sure how a dedicated facility would have made any difference in this scenario.

 

[dajop]

So the question then becomes how an infectious case recovers, is released, and somehow spreads it elsewhere? Or is there a missing link? Not sure how a dedicated facility would have made any difference in this scenario.

I'm guessing there are various possibilities. In Singapore, there were recent escapes via Immigration staff and airport cleaners (can't remember which first, or whether they were even linked), so it need not be via the original positive case in the community or via HQ.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

So the question then becomes how an infectious case recovers, is released, and somehow spreads it elsewhere? Or is there a missing link? Not sure how a dedicated facility would have made any difference in this scenario.

Prof Cheng went through many possible transmission paths.

However from the serology testing and other review done he believes the traveller would have been vey unlikely to have been infectious after he left HQ., and views this as one of the least likely scenarios.

So the breach while unknown is thought to be by other means.

ie Another person traveller/aircrew etc perhaps were also positive, but not detected. Perhaps traveller infected another person or HQ staff member. Perhaps transport worker infected... airport cleaner.....

However all likely contacts and returned travellers at this stage were tested and no one has had a positive result.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Another person traveller/aircrew etc perhaps were also positive, but not detected. Perhaps traveller infected another person or HQ staff member. Perhaps transport worker infected... airport cleaner.....

Only one of these paths would be eliminated in a scenario where we had a dedicated facility.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Not sure how a dedicated facility would have made any difference in this scenario.

Yes that would only help if transmission was in HQ.

Would not help if say airport cleaner (ie NZ) or a person involved in plane to HQ process (ie transport, border control etc).

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Only one of these paths would be eliminated in a scenario where we had a dedicated facility.

Well with another traveller (or aircrew) paths that would be less likely would include:

• Returned traveller to returned traveller (once in quaratine, and who may possibly only turn positive after they leave)
• Returner traveller to staff member (Can still occur as say health checks and swabs are still performed and processed on arrival, but there are less staff at risk due to proximity . ie not normally being there, no corridors etc.
• Returned traveller to other non-HQ people (ie like the pic recently in Sydney were returned travellers were queuing on arrival and the public were coming down an escalator with only a rope to separate)

 

[kamchatsky]

[moderator hat]

WARNING​

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Some Political/Parochial Posts and other related posts have been removed.​

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If any members continue to post in such a manner, they may be subject to sanction.​

[/moderator hat]

Curiously, should there be a section of the forum where it is "politically free for all"? Given Covid and politics are so closely linked with each other, it is very hard to separate them anyway?

 

[Must...Fly!]

Well with another traveller (or aircrew) paths that would be less likely would include:

• Returned traveller to returned traveller (once in quaratine, and who may possibly only turn positive after they leave)
• Returner traveller to staff member (Can still occur as say health checks and swabs are still performed and processed on arrival, but there are less staff at risk due to proximity . ie not normally being there, no corridors etc.
• Returned traveller to other non-HQ people (ie like the pic recently in Sydney were returned travellers were queuing on arrival and the public were coming down an escalator with only a rope to separate)

One and two are unlikely given the volume of testing performed on residents and staff in quarantine hotels. While possible one test is wrong, to have days of the same is really not going to happen.

Point three could well be the same risk within a dedicated facility as hotels. As it is now you more or less grab your bags and go to your room in Victoria.

 

[JessicaTam]

Curiously, should there be a section of the forum where it is "politically free for all"? Given Covid and politics are so closely linked with each other, it is very hard to separate them anyway?

[mod hat]
No.
[/mod hat]

 

[Lynda2475]

Returned traveller to other non-HQ people (ie like the pic recently in Sydney were returned travellers were queuing on arrival and the public were coming down an escalator with only a rope to separate)

From what I've read there aren't supposed to be any shared use hotels (i.e. hosting both HQ and non-HQ passengers ) in the Vic HQ program, so that would rule this out.

 

[Lynda2475]

From a community point of view I think this time it was necessary

No argument to be made for locking down regional Victoria when zero cases, and highly questionable as to whether greater Melbourne needed to lockdown vs isolating close contacts. Generic lockdowns mean you are not trusting your contract tracing and/rings of contanment.