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Queensland Covid-19 testing blitz results 'best we could have hoped for' as three new cases recorded

<span>Photograph: Glenn Hunt/EPA</span>
Photograph: Glenn Hunt/EPA

The initial results of testing to contain a potential Covid-19 outbreak south of Brisbane have been “the best we could have hoped for”, Queensland authorities said on Thursday.

The state announced three new coronavirus cases had been detected – none linked to two women who tested positive after recently returning to Brisbane from Melbourne, and who allegedly made false declarations to evade Queensland border restrictions.

But Queensland remains on edge about the potential for another source of virus infections, with a large tranche of tests results expected soon and recriminations already under way about the effectiveness of border controls and the actions of the women.

Related: Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria records 13 deaths and 723 new Covid-19 cases as NSW reports 18 cases and Qld three

Brisbane’s only daily print newspaper, the Courier Mail, printed the women’s names and photographs on its front page, calling them “enemies of the state”.

Queensland has notionally opened its borders to interstate travellers, except to those arriving from declared Covid-19 “hotspots”, including Victoria and, from this coming Saturday, all of greater Sydney.

The border system – especially at highway checkpoints – largely relies on good-faith statutory declarations made by people to confirm they have not recently travelled to such a hotspot. People can be fined for making a false declaration to obtain a border pass, though police rarely appear to conduct proactive checks at the border.

On Thursday, the police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, told reporters “the processes and systems [at the border] are excellent”, and that border controls could not be blamed for the 19-year-old women giving allegedly false information.

“Unfortunately such is life, we’re always going to find that small percentage [of people] who have done the wrong thing,” Carroll said.

“If you go like they did and spend an awful amount of time planning how … to be deceitful, that’s doing the wrong thing.

“‘You’ve got to have confidence in the system we have in place is exceptional compared to what we see in other parts of the country.”

The deputy commissioner, Steve Gollschewski, told reporters that one of the women had also not been cooperative with police, who are attempting to establish their movements in a critical eight-day period between returning to Brisbane and being placed in isolation in hospital.

“Borders are the first line of defence for all of us,” Gollschewski said.

“The next layer of defence is our social distancing and the reason why that is so important is because the borders are not 100% guaranteed to stop [people], as we have seen, we have had some people coming to the state who have tested Covid positive.

“The third layer of defence is a rapid response, [which] is currently in play and I can assure you it is operating at a very high level and I have great confidence in it.”

About 1,000 people from the Logan area were tested on Wednesday as a large testing and contact-tracing operation got under way.

Some results of those tests were not expected to be confirmed until Thursday, but the initial results have offered some cause for optimism.

Queensland’s chief health officer, Jeannette Young, said three new cases were detected on Wednesday. They included a man in hotel quarantine and a couple linked to a cluster of cases at Potts Point in Sydney, who had been self-isolating since returning to Queensland.

“It’s been a long time in Queensland since we’ve had those sorts of case numbers,” Young said.

“This is an increasingly risky time for Queensland, we need to get through the next week.”

The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said she made no apology for her decision to declare greater Sydney a hotspot, meaning travellers who have been to Sydney will be unable to return – or will be forced into hotel quarantine – from Saturday.

She said she was frustrated at the actions of the two women who returned from Melbourne.

“Most people are doing the right thing,” Palaszczuk said. “It is unbelievable to think that Queenslanders are putting other Queenslanders at risk. They have put the health of Queenslanders and their families at risk.

“During this time, we need to make sure that everyone is doing the right thing. We need to make sure that if you are sick, you are getting tested and I want everyone to listen to Dr Young, and if you’re sick, stay at home, do not go to work. It is absolutely vital.

“You must keep up that social distancing. If you’re going to a shopping centre and seeing people not social distancing, you should leave. I mean, now is not the time to be in extremely large gatherings where people are not social distancing.”

The health minister, Steven Miles, said 255 children at a Logan area school – where one of the women who returned from Melbourne works as a cleaner – were tested on Wednesday.

“There are now six locations in [southern Brisbane] where people can get tested,” Miles said.

“We tested 6,826 people [statewide] yesterday and all of the [results received so far] were negative. That is really the best we could have hoped for in the first 24 hours of our rapid response to those new cases and we would certainly hope to see another 24 hours like that.”

Authorities confirmed on Wednesday that the sister of one of the women had tested positive. She is an after-school care worker at Chatswood Hills in Brisbane’s south.

Students from a local school visited the state parliament on Wednesday. As a result, the parliament was cleaned on Wednesday night and staff who had contact with the students told to go home.