Brisbanites Who Visited These Locations Are Being Told to Get Tested and Self-Isolate

Sneezing into our elbows, maintaining a 1.5-metre distance from other people, and washing our hands thoroughly and often: they're just some of the practices that Australians adopted in 2020 and have been continuing into 2021 in response to COVID-19. So is paying particular attention to where we've all been, which links into ongoing contact-tracing efforts — because naming locations and venues that positive coronavirus cases have visited is a crucial part of the country's containment strategy.

That includes in Queensland, where today, Thursday, January 7, state authorities have just announced a local COVID-19 case in a quarantine hotel worker. In response, Queensland Health has issued a health alert outlining places that residents should note. By now, it has become a familiar routine — and, in this case, if you've visited these spots on the dates and during the times outlined, you should get a test for COVID-19 immediately and self-isolate until you receive your results.

This applies regardless of whether you have any coronavirus symptoms or not — and, if you get negative test result, you're still asked to keep monitoring for symptoms and then get retested if necessary.

On the list: two train trips, two shopping centres and a newsagents. If you caught the train from Altandi to Roma Street on Saturday, January 2 at 7am, and from Central to Altandi at 4pm at the same day, then you need to get tested and self-isolate. The same applies if you went to Woolworths in Calamvale North from 11am–12pm on Sunday, January 3, to Coles in Sunnybank Hills from 7.30–8am on Tuesday, January 5 and to the Sunnybank Hills Shopping Town Newsagent from 8–8.15am on Tuesday, January 5.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has also advised that anyone who lives in Algester, Sunnybank Hills and Calamvale and has symptoms of COVID-19 — even mild symptoms — should get tested.

Queensland Health is maintaining an active register of locations that have been visited by positive COVID-19 cases, which you can check out on its website. You can find a rundown of testing clinic locations online as well.

Queensland currently has 20 active cases of COVID-19, from a pandemic-wide total of 1265 to-date.

For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website.

Top image: Denisbin via Flickr.