Queensland Health has officially listed two Brisbane International Airport locations as COVID-19 exposure sites, after an international traveller accidentally entered the ‘green zone’ area upon arriving from Papua New Guinea. The man later tested positive to COVID-19.
The health authority has advised that people need to isolate and get tested if they had visited:
- Hudson’s Coffee stand and the adjacent seating area between the coffee stand and the white barriers between 9:53am and 11:20am on Thursday, 29 April 2021
- the male toilets adjacent to Gate 79 between 11:23am and 11:15pm on Thursday, 29 April 2021
The man had been to these locations after he and his partner were accidentally directed into the airport’s green zone, rather than being contained with other international travellers in the airport’s ‘red zone’.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Sonya Bennett is asking anyone who’s been in the areas listed above to self-isolate and to get tested for COVID on Tuesday, 4 May.
Because the travellers in the green zone were mostly heading to New Zealand, she said, “It is likely that all of these contacts will be in New Zealand and NZ’s public health authorities are providing similar advice to people.”
However, we need to make sure we capture any contacts who remain in Australia. Having viewed CCTV footage, we believe people who have been to these locations during the times of exposure face a potential risk.
We need them to quarantine and get tested five days after visiting these locations. That is the average incubation period of SARS-CoV-2 so if they are negative, they will be safe to leave quarantine.
This is precautionary but we are taking no chances.
Fortunately tests have shown that the man who tested positive was at a stage of the infection where he would have posed a low risk to other travellers – and he and his partner were both masked up and socially distanced while they were in the airport. Here’s hoping those measures worked.
