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Covid alert for almost 100 Brisbane suburbs

An alert has been issued for nearly 100 Queensland suburbs after coronavirus was detected in a waste treatment plant that services a huge area across the state's capital.

Queensland Health revealed Thursday evening that traces of Covid-19 had been detected at the Luggage Point wastewater treatment plant in Pinkenba, in Brisbane.

The facility services a total of 96 suburbs in the Brisbane North area as well as other inner-city suburbs, including Newmarket, Red Hill, The Gap and Woolloongabba.

Luggage Point treatment plant.
The Luggage Point waste treatment plant services almost 96 suburbs in Brisbane. Source: Google Maps

While the traces could reflect previous cases of Covid-19, who can take months to entirely shed the virus, a stern warning has been issued by Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young.

"Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting, and loss of taste or smell. It is very important people with symptoms come forward right away and get tested – we can't be complacent, we're still in this pandemic," Dr Young said on Thursday.

"It is critical we detect any cases that we may not be aware of as quickly as possible through our testing system, to contain any potential spread."

Dr Young said there was still concern for overseas variants which had been proven to be more contagious than local variants.

She said it was however possible "that this detection relates to previous Covid-19 cases that can shed viral fragments for a couple of months after they are no longer infectious".

A full list of the affected suburbs can be access through the Queensland Health wastewater areas webpage.

Coronavirus testing locations can be found here.

Three cases of the virus were recorded in Queensland for Thursday, all of which were acquired overseas.

There are still 65 active cases in the state, while more than 49,000 people have received vaccinations.

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