Quarantine hotel cleaner confirmed to have contracted UK virus strain

Genomic testing has confirmed a casual cleaner at a Brisbane hotel quarantine site was infected with a more contagious strain of COVID-19 originating from the United Kingdom, as authorities rush to trace her movements across the city.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has also called for a boost to federal hotel quarantine help after the cleaner, a woman in her 20s who worked a shift at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane’s CBD while unknowingly infectious, became the first locally acquired case of COVID-19 in 113 days.

One quarantine guest has described a strict adherence to protocols among staff at the hotel — where genomic testing…