Visitor restrictions in Ipswich and Greater Brisbane on hospitals, aged care facilities and disability services have been lifted as of midday Friday, 19 March.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said limits could ease after the state recorded zero cases of local community transmission.
Nearly 650 contacts of the Princess Alexandra Hospital doctor have come back negative so far, which is 99 per cent of the tests.
Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young confirmed the Princess Alexandra Hospital outbreak had been controlled.
“In eight days, we have controlled an outbreak due to tremendous work by a whole range of people. It is really worked very, very well,” Dr Young said.
The lockdown was triggered because of the incident at the Hotel Grand Chancellor where a case was linked to the Princess Alexandra Hospital doctor who tested positive to COVID-19, and the doctor had been out in the community before she tested positive.
“The doctor at the PA was absolutely magnificent. She really truly was,” Dr Young said.
“I got a thorough briefing when I returned from leave yesterday about what had happened and she did everything right.
“That is why I say it is the virus at fault. It really is.
“There is nothing that I can see that she could have done differently.
“We have in our hospitals people who actually watch while someone is putting PPE on and taking it off. That is how seriously this is taken.
“This doctor did not do anything that you could say could possibly have led to her getting it affected by the virus.
“When she went home and, although knowing she had not done anything that would cause her to be affected, at the first hint, she and got tested and those first tests had very, very high CT values, meaning it was very little virus.”
Queensland recorded nine new cases of COVID-19 in hotel quarantine in the past 24 hours, six of them from Papua New Guinea.
More than 8,200 tests have been conducted in the last 24 hours, and more than 32,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered.
It is important to:
- Stay home if you are sick
- If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, get tested
- Stay 1.5 metres away from other people—think two big steps
- Wash your hands with soap and water, or hand sanitizer
- Leave the location if it is crowded.
If you have any concerns about your health, contact your doctor or contact 13HEALTH (13 43 25 84).
