Authorities worried UK strain of COVID-19 may be so infectious it broke through normal quarantine protocols

Contact tracers are scrambling to pinpoint close contacts of a Brisbane quarantine hotel cleaner diagnosed with COVID-19 after tests confirmed she was carrying the more contagious UK variant.

Authorities in Queensland are highly concerned about the case after the woman, aged in her 20s, was out in the community for several days while unknowingly infectious, before developing symptoms on Wednesday and testing positive.