A black woman is copping a torrent of racist and sexist abuse on social media after bringing coronavirus to Queensland.
Diana Lasu, 21, and Olivia Winnie Muranga, 19, are accused of lying on their border declarations about where they had been when they arrived in Brisbane from Melbourne via Sydney on July 21.
Days later they felt sick but carried on working, socialising and visiting restaurants and cocktail bars while waiting for their test results – which came back positive.
As Ms Lasu faces criminal charges of fraud and deception the 21-year-old is also enduring personal attacks on all fronts including disgusting insults on Instagram.
An account under Ms Lasu’s name has been sharing some of the comments streaming in from complete strangers including death threats and attacks over the colour of her skin.
Diana Lasu, 21, (picture) is one of the young women who allegedly lied on border declarations after touching down in Brisbane on July 21 from a trip from Melbourne via Sydney
‘Black lives matter, but not yours,’ one comments reads.
‘You dumb, ugly sl**. Way to f*** it up for Queensland. Everyone hates you, do everyone a favour and drink some bleach,’ another reads.
‘Hope you get deported to where you came from.’
Some devolve into racist name-calling and attacks on her physical appearance including references to potential cosmetic surgery she may have received.
‘Your lips are bigger than your ego, you selfish b****’
‘Looks like your botox injection penetrated into your tiny brain.’
An account under Ms Lasu’s name has been sharing some of the comments (pictured) streaming in from complete strangers including death threats and attacks over the colour of her skin
Some devolve into racist name-calling and attacks on her physical appearance including references to potential cosmetic surgery she may have received
People have been hurling personal attacks her way about her appearance
Others told her she deserved to die
The stream of abuse was in the form of more than 20 messages posted over a period of 24 hours. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Lasu for comment.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll condemned the public behaviour surrounding the women during a media briefing on Friday morning.
‘We have seen community members making comments about certain cultural groups and ethnicities. This is not productive at all,’ she said.
Ms Lasu received more than 20 messages in 24 hours after she was named as an accused quarantine dodger
Olivia Winnie Muranga (left), 19 and Haja Timbo, 21 allegedly and lied on their border declarations about where they had been when they arrived in Brisbane from Melbourne via Sydney on July 21
Meanwhile Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll (pictured) condemned racist comments about the women
‘People doing the wrong thing come from all walks of life, backgrounds and community groups.
‘So it is important especially in these times that community groups actually come together rather than fracture.’
Meanwhile the third woman who was said to be travelling with the pair was identified earlier on Friday as 21-year-old Haja Timbo.
Ms Timbo was the first to speak publicly after being identified as the third woman involved in the alleged COVID-19 health breach.
She denied media reports surrounding the incident but wouldn’t clarify what actually happened.
‘No, but half of the things that are in the media aren’t true, so what can you do,’ she told the Courier Mail.
‘I want everything to be confidential. I don’t want to be in the media or my friends to be in the media.’
The trio have been charged with one count each of providing false or misleading documents and fraud over their alleged lies to authorities when they arrived in Brisbane.
Lasu’s mother earlier denied her daughter did anything wrong, instead pointing the blame at Muranga.
‘She didn’t go to Melbourne, she went to Sydney,’ she told Nine News on Thursday.
‘I don’t have any apologies for anyone – believe me.’
The mother, who is in hotel quarantine as a close contact, said her daughter’s friend had been in Melbourne.
‘If you know, yourself, you have the virus – why didn’t you directly go to the doctor?’ she said, referring to Muranga.
Lasu and Muranga remain in Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital under police guard, partly for their own protection.
Meanwhile, footage has emerged showing Muranga casually ordering a drink at the Cowch Dessert Cocktail Bar on Brisbane’s Southbank with a friend in the hours after she was tested for the virus on Monday.
The venue is one of 11 visited by the women while infectious.
The defiant mother of Diana Lasu (left) has sensationally claimed her daughter never travelled to Melbourne and instead pointed the blame at Muranga (right)
Muranga (pictured) had allegedly gone to work for two days at Parklands Christian College in Park Ridge, before calling in sick
‘Two cocktails hardly seems worth all this pain,’ Arif Mendes, who owns a restaurant Muranga visited, told A Current Affair.
‘People say we’re in this together… well clearly not for some people, that’s disappointing.’
Before that, Muranga had allegedly gone to work for two days at Parklands Christian College in Park Ridge, south of the city before calling in sick.
She went to the doctor on Saturday and was told to get tested immediately, but she allegedly waited until Monday to do so.
As long lines of worried people waited on Thursday to get tested at a pop-up clinic set up at the college, Muranga’s brother admitted her alleged actions were a ‘mistake’, but claimed she had been unfairly targeted because of her race.
He said his sister waited several days in between experiencing symptoms and getting sick.
‘Some days she couldn’t even breathe out of her airways and s**t,’ he told the program via telephone.
When told dozens of people could now be infected because of her alleged actions, the brother said it ‘was not something we sat down and thought about’.
He then claimed the criticism his sister was receiving had been intensified because of the colour of her skin.
‘It’s a f***ing mistake,’ he said. ‘I reckon if someone else did this that wasn’t of colour, you’ll be protecting them – you wouldn’t be doing all of this s**t.’
Queensland Police on Thursday afternoon said three women had been charged for allegedly providing false information on their border declarations.
A 19-year-old Heritage Park woman, a 21-year-old Acacia Ridge woman and a 21-year-old Algester woman were all charged with one count each of providing false or misleading documents and fraud.
Medical workers evacuate a resident from the Epping Gardens aged care facility in Melbourne on Thursday
Footage has emerged of Muranga casually entering the Cowch Dessert Cocktail Bar on Brisbane’s Southbank with a friend and ordering a drink
The women could be fined $13,345 or sent to jail for a maximum of five years.
Police said the trio are now cooperating with officers and Queensland Health officials.
The women will appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 28.