Covid-19 coronavirus: Immediate isolation advised for Kiwis caught up in Brisbane Airport green zone breach

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk arrives at Parliament House in Brisbane to give a Covid briefing today. Photo / Getty Images

Some passengers on board three flights to New Zealand caught up in the Brisbane International Airport Covid-19 green zone breach have been told tonight to immediately isolate.

The Ministry of Health has tonight been advised by the Queensland health authorities of an upgraded risk for some passengers on board three flights that left Brisbane airport on Thursday afternoon.

Brisbane International Airport was announced a “venue of concern” today after a passenger, who had travelled from Papua New Guinea and mingled with passengers bound for New Zealand, tested positive to Covid-19.

Almost 400 passengers who flew to New Zealand from Brisbane have potentially been exposed to the virus.

Earlier today those arriving from Brisbane to New Zealand on Air New Zealand NZ 202, NZ 146 and Qantas QF 135 yesterday had just been told to monitor their health for the next 14 days.

Now passengers who were in two locations of interest at specified times at Brisbane International Airport are considered “casual plus contacts”.

“The two locations of interest are Hudson’s coffee stand and adjacent seating between 9.23am and 11.20am Thursday 29 April Queensland time, and the male toilet adjacent to Gate 79 between11.23am and 11.15pm when the toilet was cleaned,” the MOH said tonight in a statement.

“As a precaution, anyone who was at these locations at these times should now immediately return home or to their accommodation, isolate until they get a negative result from a day five test on Tuesday 4 May.”

Travellers who were in either of these two locations at this time should contact Healthline on 0800 358 5453 and register as a casual plus contact.

The three flights affected are Air New Zealand NZ 202 from Brisbane to Christchurch which arrived around 4.30pm yesterday; Air New Zealand NZ 146 from Brisbane to Auckland which arrived at 5.30pm yesterday and Qantas QF 135 from Brisbane to Christchurch yesterday.

“While the health risk from the green zone breach event remains low, the Queensland authorities have advised New Zealand counterparts that those travellers who were in two locations of interest at specified times within the international terminal are casual plus contacts,” MOH said in a statement

The Ministry’s contact tracing team will be contacting passengers on the three flights tomorrow.

The reported breach is linked to two individuals from a red zone country who were in the café and also used the toilets, both accessible to green zone passengers. The two individuals were tested in Brisbane with one returning a negative result and the other returning a weak positive, confirmed by a second PCR test.

Brisbane International Airport was announced a “venue of concern” today after a passenger, who had travelled from Papua New Guinea and mingled with passengers bound for New Zealand, tested positive to Covid-19.

The infected man travelled from a “red zone” country but was inadvertently allowed to cross into the “green zone” area at Brisbane Airport where passengers were waiting to travel to New Zealand.