'Things can turn very quickly': City rocked by 'concerning' new virus case

A Queensland city believed to have been coronavirus-free has been rocked by a new case at an aged care facility.

The state-owned North Rockhampton nursing home in Rockhampton, central Queensland, is in lockdown after a female staff member tested positive for the virus on Thursday.

The worker is understood to have worked while sick and may have been contagious as early as May 3.

The nursing home’s 115 residents and 180 workers are to undergo coronavirus testing, Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young revealed on Friday.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the nurse's positive test was of "some concern".

Fears of an outbreak similar to Newmarch House

Health officials believe the staff member was infected during a trip to Brisbane.

The last case in Rockhampton was diagnosed on March 30 and its last active case was considered recovered on May 1.

“This just serves to underline that even after cities have long periods of time without active cases, things can turn very, very quickly,” Queensland’s Minister of Health Dr Steven Miles said.

A rapid response team has been sent to Rockhampton from Brisbane to conduct the response.

Dr Young said the team will then work to see who needs quarantining for 14 days.

“[It is] a very important lesson for all of us across the state. We have not beaten the virus yet,” she said.

Townsville response praised as a world-first

Dr Young called for Rockhampton teams to continue its “beautiful” work managing cases to ensure there is no further community transmission related to this case.

Yet there will be fears that if the member of staff had contact with several residents while working sick, an outbreak similar to the one seen at Sydney’s Newmarch House which has led to 16 deaths is possible.

Dr Young called for a similar response to the virus seen in Townsville some 800km north.

Of the city’s 24 cases, 23 of those were managed so there was no ongoing community transmission.

“That’s got to be a world first, world-class response,” she told reporters on Friday.

“We must continue doing that”.

Only 219 of Queensland’s 1,052 coronavirus cases have been acquired through community transmission.

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