A new COVID-19 case has been recorded, linked to one of two clusters which have threatened to force parts of southeast Queensland into lockdown.
The new case is a close contact of a man who works in the aviation industry and tested positive after being in the community for three days.
And in another cause for concern reported on Wednesday, a truck driver who spent time on the Gold Coast has been found positive after travelling to and from New South Wales.
It has prompted the Queensland government to introduce mandatory masks on the Gold Coast, as it had done on Tuesday for Brisbane and Moreton Bay local government areas, for the next two weeks.
The developments come after a day after four new local cases were detected, including the Eatons Hill man who works in the aviation industry.
His wife has also tested positive.
The close contact who has also tested positive is a man in his 50s who lives on Biggera Waters on the Gold Coast and has been in the community while potentially infectious.
In a separate case, a truck driver was infectious in the community for eight days, and stayed at two hotels and a boarding house.
Other occupants of the boarding house in South Brisbane have tested negative.
Another case on Tuesday was that of a woman who returned three negative tests in hotel quarantine, but tested positive five days after leaving.
The truck driver on the Gold Coast lives in the Queensland city and regularly travels to Sydney, according to Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young.
He has been in the suburbs of Mermaid Waters, Merrimac, Nerang, Surfers Paradise, Miami Beach, and Currumbin while potentially infectious, Young said.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the new COVID concerns in Queensland have originated from outside the state.
“The genomic sequencing that came back on the two different clusters yesterday show that this virus is not linked to any existing Queensland cases, that these are linked to interstate and potentially overseas,” she said.
“That’s good news. It shows that we don’t have any evidence of the virus still circulating within the community from previous clusters.
“But it once again shows the risk to Queenslanders of this virus coming across our borders.
“We know that the virus is on our doorstep.
“We have been saying this for some time now, from New South Wales, ACT, Victoria. These cases reinforce this again.”
Young has used the scares to once again plea for Queenslanders to get vaccinated for COVID-19, as the state currently has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
“We’ve seen, time and time again, that if you’re fully vaccinated, it’s very unlikely you’ll end up in ICU, and extremely unlikely you’ll die from the infection,” Young said.
“But you can still pass it on.
“So we need everyone to get vaccinated who can possibly get vaccinated so that those people are protected. And we do know that it reduces the risk of passing it on, but doesn’t eliminate it.”
Queensland records one local COVID-19 case, as Gold Coast truck driver scare emerges - 7NEWS
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