Queensland's specialist COVID-19 contact tracing team will stand down today after 15 months on the job, tracing more than 15,000 contacts and following up on more than 10,000 cases.
The QTrace Central Contact Tracing Hub was established on January 13, 2021 as additional support for public health units.
More than 360 people were employed in the hub, working in shifts of about 40 staff at a time.
Deputy Chief Health Officer James Smith said contact tracing would still continue with public health units but would focus on outbreaks in high-risk settings, including aged care facilities following cases of new variants in the future.
Dr Smith said QTrace had been instrumental in preventing the spread of COVID-19 prior to borders reopening.
"They ensured close contacts were quickly quarantined, reducing the risk of community transmission and took pressure off local public health units," Dr Smith said.
"QTrace supported the efforts of public health units to keep COVID-19 numbers low until over 90 per cent of the state's adult population was vaccinated and we could lift restrictions.
Since its inception, the team's responsibilities expanded to manage large cohorts of close contacts, including issuing quarantine directions, monitoring compliance while in quarantine and facilitating the release of contacts from quarantine.
QTrace also provided support to New South Wales Health when case numbers were peaking and threatening to breach the Queensland border.
Vets and IT specialists among contact tracing team
When border restrictions eased, the team assisted around 4,700 fully vaccinated Queenslanders to return from declared hotspots and quarantine at home.
Rebecca Walker, a QTrace site commander for eight months, said the team was made up of health professionals and public servants from other departments.
"During larger outbreaks, like the Indooroopilly cluster last year, we brought in staff who usually work as veterinarians, records managers, intelligence officers, IT specialists, molecular scientists, policy officers and analysts," Ms Walker said.
"It can be an intense but rewarding job.
"When you're working to prevent an outbreak, there is a lot of pressure to find close contacts quickly, to alert people to the prospect that they might have a highly contagious, potentially life-threatening disease.
"You need to be efficient, composed, and detail-oriented. We're very proud of the work QTrace staff have done to protect Queenslanders."
There have been 857 COVID related deaths in Queensland since the pandemic began.
