CANBERRA (Reuters) – Travelers to Australia will have to show a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their plane, the prime minister said Friday, as the city of Brisbane was shut down following the discovery of a case of a virulent new coronavirus variant.
The more than 2 million residents of Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city, will be banned from leaving their home for anything but essentials for three days starting Friday evening after a quarantine hotel employee tested positive for the new variant, which was the first . discovered in Great Britain.
Australia has found several cases of the variant, but this was the first to appear outside the quarantine system. Australia has also found a variant that showed up in hotel quarantine in South Africa.
It was not known if the hotel worker, a cleaner, was infected by someone coming from Britain, but everyone should now show a negative test to travel to Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced.
“A negative test isn’t foolproof, but a positive test – they don’t come,” Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told reporters in the capital, Canberra.
Morrison justified Brisbane’s lockdown, given the danger that the new strain could soon become the dominant strain of the virus.
‘I know they will be in Brisbane today asking’ why is this necessary? There is only one case ‘. This is no ordinary case. This is a very special case and one where we have to treat things very differently, ”Morrison told reporters.
Australia has had about 28,500 cases of the novel coronavirus and about 900 deaths, far fewer than many other countries, partly due to strict border controls from the start of the pandemic.
Since March, the border has been closed to all non-citizens and permanent residents and the number of people returning each week has been limited to just over 6,000 people, with everyone going into mandatory hotel quarantine at their own expense.
More than 35,000 Australians have indicated they plan to return, but Morrison said the number of allowed returns would be cut by nearly half through mid-February given the danger of the new variant.
“We can’t put it back in the box. We need to act before we get the cases, ”said Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young.
Brisbane is the capital of Queensland.
Other states quickly moved to isolate Queensland. Western Australia said people from Queensland could not travel there and that others had instituted mandatory quarantine for arrivals from the state.
Brisbane residents doing essentials must wear masks. Funerals and weddings are limited to 20 and 10 people respectively, while entertainment venues close and restaurants and cafes are only allowed to serve take-away meals.
Officials have identified and isolated 79 people who are in close contact with the female hotel worker.
Morrison said all employees in quarantine hotels would undergo daily COVID-19 testing.
Additional reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Robert Birsel