Queensland Covid update: people queuing for seven hours as private testing site closures cause chaos

More than a dozen Queensland Covid-19 testing clinics were unexpectedly closed on Tuesday, creating chaos and waiting times of up to seven hours at other sites.

In the 24 hours to 7pm on Monday, Queensland recorded 5,699 new Covid cases, another daily record and up by more than 1,000 on the previous day.

Testing sites were thrown into chaos as people arrived to find private clinics shuttered, despite the Queensland Health website showing they were open.

In some cases, that was due to staffing issues at those facilities.

Several people who contacted Guardian Australia said there had been confusion at those sites around the scheduled opening time. People then flocked to public testing sites, where wait times of up to seven hours were estimated.

People were turned away from an open drive-through testing site at Murrarie due to traffic congestion.

On Tuesday, authorities confirmed the outbreak had spread to Aboriginal communities at Northern Peninsula, Woorabinda and Mornington Island in addition to growing outbreaks at Cherbourg and Palm Island.