Health authorities were able to detect a Covid-infected woman thanks to sheer luck after she travelled across three states with her husband.
The 44-year-old woman fled locked-down Melbourne on June 1 and travelled with her partner through regional NSW before entering Queensland on June 5.
The woman is believed to have been visiting family in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast and was tested on Tuesday before returning a positive result on Wednesday.
She had been experiencing symptoms from June 3 but only sought a test on June 8.
The pair were only detected when the couple came forward for testing because the man needed negative results for work purposes - with health authorities admitting it was down to luck that the case was caught.
Queensland Covid scare: Melbourne couple escape lockdown, one tests positive Wed, 9 Jun 2021, 7:46PM
Queensland s Health Minister Yvette D Ath and chief health officer Dr Jeanette Young. (Photo / Getty Images)
Queensland Covid scare: Melbourne couple escape lockdown, one tests positive Wed, 9 Jun 2021, 7:46PM
A Melbourne couple have sparked a Covid scare in Queensland after leaving lockdown and travelling to the Sunshine Coast.
The pair are reported to have spent several days in regional New South Wales before moving north to Queensland on June 5, where a 44-year-old woman tested positive in Caloundra on June 8.
Queensland still regards Melbourne to be a Covid hotspot, with travellers from the southern state s capital required to complete hotel quarantine on arrival.
A woman who fled locked-down Melbourne and drove to Queensland with her husband before testing positive to Covid has sparked fears of outbreaks in three states as authorities scramble to find out who else was exposed to the virus.
Police believe the woman, 44, crossed the NSW/Queensland border at the remote rural town of Goondiwindi with her partner on June 5 in a bid to evade authorities.
The couple, who left a suburb on the edge of greater Melbourne on June 1, likely drove the scenic route so they could avoid passing through the Gold Coast - where police perform 100 random intercepts a day and have stricter border control measures in place.
A coronavirus-infected woman who fled locked-down Melbourne with her husband and went on a 1,900km road trip may have crossed the NSW-Queensland border at a remote town to avoid detection.
Health authorities in Victoria, NSW and Queensland are scrambling to track down hundreds of people who may have been exposed to the virus during their interstate trip.
The woman, 44, tested positive on Wednesday but may have been infectious from the day she left Melbourne on June 1, which was already in lockdown.
Police believe the couple crossed the NSW-Queensland border at the remote rural town of Goondiwindi on June 5 in a bid to evade authorities.