August 23, 2020
Two more people – including a male child – have tested positive to the COVID-19 virus linked to the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre cluster at Wacol.
Speaking at a media conference on Sunday morning, Health Minister Dr Steven Miles said both were household members of the first seven individual cases and were already in quarantine.
This brings to nine the number of cases linked to the centre.
Queensland Health has released a long list of locations (see below) related to the cluster.
Anyone who has been to any of these locations at these times should monitor their health and, if they develop even the mildest of COVID-19 symptoms, get tested.
Dr Miles said a total of 6875 tests had been carried out during the past 24 hours, with 3089 in the three Health Districts that Queensland Health was concerned about, ie. Metro North, Metro South and West Moreton.
“You will recall that in our rapid response phase to the last outbreak we peaked at around 20,000 tests a day,” Dr Miles said.
“We need to test a lot, lot more people to be confident that we are finding any cases that are out there.”
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young again emphasised that if people have any symptoms at all, they must get tested … “the queues are not long”.
Department of Youth Justice Director-General Bob Gee said the Youth Detention Centre had implemented a plan to “swap out” all the staff.
More than 100 Youth Justice employees will join with Corrective Services personnel, police and workers from a range of other agencies to insert a completely new workforce into the centre.
He said the children were being allowed out of their cells in a structured way to undertake activities.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said testing of the more than 500 staff linked to the centre was continuing but authorities were still awaiting some results. Many of these staff also work at multiple places.
So far 202 of these tests have come back negative; 111 of the 131 test results so far for detainees were also negative. No detainees had tested positive so far.
A police taskforce has also been set up to track down across the State all detainees from the centre who have been released since July 22.
Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said police so far had contacted about half of the detainees who had been released.
- External link: Contact Tracing Alerts
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Contact Tracing Alerts – Brisbane Youth Detention Centre cluster
Anyone who has been to any of these locations at these times should monitor their health and, if they develop even the mildest of COVID-19 symptoms, get tested.
- 9 August – Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains – 11:00am-12:10pm
- 9 August – Woolworths, Browns Plains Grand Plaza – 11:00am – noon
- 10 August – Spotlight, Browns Plains – 9:30am-9:45am
- 10 August – Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains – 10:15am-11:25am
- 10 August – Woolworths, Browns Plains Grand Plaza – 11:00am-12:30pm
- 10 August – Greenbank Takeaway – 5:30pm-5:40pm
- 10 August – Woolworths, Forest Lake Shopping centre – unknown time
- 11 August – BP Wacol (cnr Boundary & Progress Rds) – 6:00am-6:15am
- 11 August – Mt Gravatt Swimming Pool – 10:30am-11:45am
- 11 August – Dami Japanese Restaurant, Mt Gravatt – noon to unknown
- 12 August – Woolworths, Forest Lake Shopping Sentre – 4:30pm-5:00pm
- 12 August – Thai Antique, Carina Heights – 6:00pm-6:15pm
- 12 August – Coles, Browns Plains Grand Plaza – 7:15pm to unknown
- 13 August – Australian Nails, Forest Lake Shopping Centre – 11:00am-noon
- 13 August – Forest Lake Shopping Centre – 11:00am-3:00pm
- 13 August – Nandos, Forest Lake Shopping Centre – after noon to unknown
- 14 August – OfficeWorks, Browns Plains – 10:00am-10:10am
- 14 August – Coles, Browns Plains Grand Plaza – after 10:00am – before 11:00am
- 14 August – Ikea, Slacks Creek – 11:00am-2:00pm
- 14 August – Woolworths, Marsden on Fifth Shopping Centre – 11:15am-11:30am
- 14 August – Anytime Fitness, Village Square, Browns Plains – 2:20pm-3:30pm
- 14 August – Bunnings, Browns Plains – 2:30pm-3:00pm
- 14 August – Coles, Forest Lake Shopping Centre – 4:00pm-4:30pm
- 15 August – K-Mart, Browns Plains Grand Plaza – 9:30am-9:45am
- 15 August – Anytime Fitness, Village Square Browns Plains – 10:25am-11:35am
- 16 August – Woolworths, Marsden on Fifth Shopping Centre – 10:00am-10:15am
- 16 August – Coles, Browns Plains Grand Plaza – 10:30am-11:00am
- 16 August – Anytime Fitness, Village Square Browns Plains – 1:20pm-2:30pm
- 17 August – Greenbank Takeaway – 6:30pm-6:40pm
- 18 August – BCF Greenslopes – 12:30pm-1:00pm
- 18 August – Chemist Warehouse (Waratah Drive) Crestmead – afternoon
- 18 August – BP Wacol (cnr Boundary & Progress Rds) – evening
- 19 August – 12 RND Fitness, Birkdale – 8:00am-9:30am
- 19 August – Woolworths, Browns Plains Grand Plaza – 9:30am – unknown
- 19 August – The Jam Pantry, Greenslopes – 10:30am-11:45am
- 19 August – Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre – 1:00pm-3:00pm
- 19 August – Bras’n’Things, Westfield Carindale – 1:00pm-3:00pm
- 19 August – Ghanda clothing, Westfield Carindale – 1:00pm-3:00pm
- 19 August – Myer, Westfield Carindale – 1:00pm-3:00pm
- 19 August – Baskin Robbins, Camp Hill Market Place – 5:30pm-5:40pm
- 19 August – Pho Inn, Camp Hill Market Place – 5:30pm-5:40pm
- 20 August – Woolworths, Marsden on Fifth Shopping Centre – 10:00am-10:15am
- 21 August – Woolworths, Forest Lake Shopping Centre – 10:30am-10:45am
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Queensland has 16 active cases, taking the total to date since the pandemic began to 1105.
Five people are in hospital but none are in intensive care.
- Related article: New COVID-19 Rules Start Now
