Queensland Covid update: Christmas quarantine decision reversed for hundreds of travellers

Queensland has backtracked on public health advice that threw dozens of airline passengers into hotel quarantine, and has caused further flight cancellations, according to a tourism body.

Two further exposure sites were listed in Townsville and Brisbane Airport.

The rest of the passengers would be deemed casual contacts and would be released from isolation after receiving a negative test result. The passengers were initially facing Christmas in hotel quarantine.

But Gschwind said since the initial isolation requirements for the two flights were announced, the council had already had reports of trip cancellations.

Queensland recorded six new cases overnight, all detected in interstate travellers who tested positive upon arrival. It brought active cases in Queensland to 50.

The six new cases were spread across a number of sites in Queensland including Goondiwindi, Wide Bay, Townsville, Gold Coast and Brisbane South and had been infectious for up to six days.

Another case reported in an overseas traveller from the UK has since been confirmed to be the Omicron variant. The traveller is currently in hotel quarantine.

Of the two cases who had been in the community, one was the man who flew from Newcastle to Brisbane, then to Townsville, and had attended another exposure site in Newcastle.

The second case attended the Argyle Hotel in Newcastle and genomic sequencing was under way to confirm if they had the Omicron variant.

More than 100 positive cases had been linked to the site.