Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

A Covid-19 briefing by the health minister of Queensland state, Australia, Yvette D'Ath was briefly interrupted by an unexpected guest on Dec. 16. 

Managed to maintain her composure

The premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, uploaded a livestream of the press conference.

While D'Ath was giving the update, a journalist interrupted her and said that a Huntsman spider was crawling on her leg.

D'Ath seemed startled and asked someone to "get that spider off" her.

You can watch her encounter with the spider from 29 minutes 48 seconds onwards:

D'Ath maintained her composure and said that the incident showed how "controlled" she could be.

"I don't like Huntsmans, but I'm going to keep going, and I'm going to pretend I don't have a Huntsman on me right now," she said.

"But if it gets anywhere near my face, please let me know," she added.

Huntsman spiders are large, long-legged spiders that can span 15 centimetres. 

The spiders are venomous and can inflict severe bites with a range of side effects, but are not considered to be especially aggressive or dangerous.

"No spiders were harmed"

Queensland's chief health officer, who was present during the briefing, tried to assist D'Ath in getting rid of the spider.

Someone then pointed out that the spider was under her left foot, startling her again.

However, she carried on with the briefing.

On the same day, she retweeted a video posted by 7 News Brisbane, giving an update that no spiders were harmed during the press conference.

Update - No spiders were harmed during the press conference. https://t.co/220c6aM8ii

— Yvette D'Ath MP (@YvetteDAth) December 16, 2021

She also retweeted a video posted by a journalist, Josh Bavas, believed to have attended the session.

The footage showed the huntsman spider skittering around her right leg as she was giving her briefing to the press.

Got to love an outdoor summer press conference in Queensland. ☀️ https://t.co/wHPQhIlV5a

— Yvette D'Ath MP (@YvetteDAth) December 16, 2021

"Got to love an outdoor summer conference in Queensland," D'Ath wrote.

Related story:

Follow and listen to our podcast here

Top images via JoshBavas/Twitter and Australian Museum