Queensland pushes for mining camps to be used for quarantine as state records four more coronavirus cases and 129 returned travellers are evacuated from super-spreader hotel
- Returned travellers in isolation at a Brisbane hotel forced to quarantine again
- 129 returned travellers in quarantine at hotel moved to other accommodation
- 250 guests who have since left quarantine at hotel forced to do another 14 days
- 226 staff who worked at hotel since December 30 are also now in quarantine
Queensland wants to use Outback mining camps instead of Brisbane hotels to quarantine returned travellers, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Thursday.
The state will propose the option to National Cabinet after coronavirus spread through a quarantine hotel, possibly through the air-conditioning, infecting a cleaner and another couple in quarantine.
Brisbane’s Grand Chancellor Hotel was evacuated on Wednesday night as officials scrambled to work out how UK super-strain of coronavirus leaked.
A total of 129 travellers, some of whom were just an hour from being released, have been forced to restart their two-week quarantine in new hotels.
On Thursday Queensland recorded four more cases of coronavirus, all in hotel quarantine but not linked to the Grand Chancellor Hotel.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said said held grave concerns about the Hotel Grand Chancellor (pictured) cluster, which has grown to six cases of the highly-contagious UK virus strain
Guests at the Hotel Grand Chancellor will be moved to other hotels in Brisbane after the coronavirus cluster grew to six cases. Pictured is two guests on their balcony at Hotel Grand Chancellor on Wednesday
Around 600 people have been forced into quarantine due to the Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster. Pictured are paramedics at the Brisbane hotel on Wednesday
Some 226 employees who have worked at the hotel since December 30 must also be quarantined and tested.
An additional 250 guests who have left quarantine since December 30 and remain in Queensland are being contacted as they must undergo another 14 days of hotel quarantine.
Premier Palaszczuk said her government’s moves have been backed by Health Minster Greg Hunt and the AHPPC.
Queensland health authorities are concerned about the growing cluster as life slowly returns to normal in Brisbane after a three day lockdown. Pictured are Brisbane residents returning to their normal lives in the city’s CBD on Tuesday
Six cases of the highly-contagious UK virus strain have been detected at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane. Pictured is a quarantined guest at hotel on Wednesday