Southeast Queensland lockdown extended by five days, Ekka cancelled as Delta cluster grows to 31 cases

Queensland has recorded 15 new cases of Covid-19 – 13 linked to the Delta cluster – in the past 24 hours forcing authorities to extend the state’s southeast lockdown by five days and cancel the Ekka.

Queensland has recorded 15 new cases of Covid-19, with 13 linked to the Indooroopilly Delta cluster, leading to a five-day extension of the southeast lockdown and the cancellation of the Ekka.

Seven of Queensland’s new cases are school students while the Delta variant cluster has increased to 31 cases.

In the interests of public health and safety, this Covid-19 story has been unlocked.

Mr Miles said the initial three -day lockdown would be insufficient – and that it would be extended until 4pm on Sunday.

Mr Miles said seven new cases were related to the Ironside State School. He said Queensland had 66 active cases of the virus.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles is providing an update on Queensland’s Covid-19 cases. Picture: Dan Peled

The Deputy Premier said there were still too many cars on the road and too many people out and about.

Home learning will be in place from Tuesday in state schools for the entire week, Mr Miles said.

Mr Miles said it was absolutely critical that people only left their homes if it was absolutely necessary.

“Home learning would be in place for the entire week from Tuesday,” he said.

He said this was the first time Queensland had seen an outbreak like this one with the virus spreading among students and teachers in schools.

Mr Miles said the Brisbane Ekka would be cancelled for this year.

“I know that’s sad and disappointing for many, many Queenslanders,” he said.

“We just can’t afford to have an event like that. The risk is just far too great.”

People queue for Covid testing at Toowong Village as Brisbane’s snap three-day lockdown continues. Picture: Brad Fleet

Mr Miles said he had received a request from supermarkets to send a message to Queenslanders that there was no need for panic buying.

“If you must go to the supermarket, please be respectful of the staff, please make sure you have your mask with you, please check-in with the QR code,” he said.

Category two and three surgeries will be cancelled in some hospitals, the Deputy Premier said.

Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young said the outbreak was “escalating”.

“It really and truly spreads so rapidly,” Dr Young said.

Dr Young said she was now confident that the medical student did not give the virus the 17-year-old student from Indooroopilly State High School.

Dr Young said health authorities were still trying to find the “missing link” between two infected travellers on a Singapore flight into Brisbane on June 29 and 29 other cases in Brisbane.

“I genuinely don’t know how it’s got from those two people … and now we’ve seen this outbreak,” she said.

Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young. Picture: Dan Peled

Dr Young said that “of course” she expected “a lot of additional cases” in the community over the next week.

She said one of the cases identified today had been in the community infectious for six days and so there would be a lot of exposure sites released today.

Dr Young said the lockdown had been extended for five days to get on top of the outbreak.

She said she needed every single Queenslander to come forward for testing if sick if the lockdown is to be lifted.

Dr Young also stressed it was important that people stay in quarantine if they are ordered to do so.

“We are mobilising support for people,” she said.

“If you are in quarantine, it is vital you absolutely adhere to that.”

She said people who were in the relevant local government areas needed to stay at home.

“Look after your kids, look after your family,” Dr Young said.

Dr Young also urged people outside the relevant local government areas to get tested because she does not know where the virus has moved to.

Dr Young said she was unaware where the virus had moved to in Queensland.

“Please, if you’re due for a vaccine go and get it unless you are in quarantine,” she said.

Dr Young said there was a person who travelled from Brisbane to Rockhampton but there hadn’t “at this stage been a transmission event”.

She said it was very important people in Rockhampton be tested too because the Delta virus could transmit “within seconds”.

Dr Young said she was concerned there were still people aged over 60 who had not been vaccinated against Covid-19.

“In Queensland, our seven deaths to date since the start of the pandemic have all been in people well over the age of 60,” she said.

“I will be going to my GP to get my second dose of AstraZeneca earlier.”

Dr Young called on all aged care workers to get vaccinated immediately.

“Any aged care worker who isn’t vaccinated, you have to come forward and get vaccinated,” she said.

“Please, it’s so important.”

She said about 80 per cent of the state’s healthcare workers had received their Covid-19 shots.

“We need 100 per cent,” Dr Young said.

Dr Young called on all aged care workers to get vaccinated immediately.

“Any aged care worker who isn’t vaccinated, you have to come forward and get vaccinated,” she said.

“Please, it’s so important.”

She said about 80 per cent of the state’s healthcare workers had received their Covid-19 shots.

“We need 100 per cent,” Dr Young said.

Dr Young said while children had escaped previous strains of the virus, they were being impacted more by Delta.

“I am very worried about those schools,” she said.

She said quarantining of schools was also “destroying the health workforce” because they were having to stay home due to the exposure of their children at schools.

She said the Children’s Hospital was on standby if any of the infected children got very sick.

Dr Young said health authorities were looking at the impact of members of the health workforce having to quarantine at home because of connections to the six schools.

She said some elective surgery would have to be deferred during the next week.

Dr Young said four Queensland hospitals could safely manage Covid cases – Prince Charles Hospital, the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Sunshine Coast University Hospital and the Gold Coast University Hospital.

Dr Young said Queensland needed to lock down really, really hard.

“If you don’t need to leave your house, don’t,” she said.

“If you are in an office today, why aren’t you at home. There are far too many cars out on the road when I drove in this morning.”

Dr Young said Queensland had to be prepared for the lockdown to extend beyond Sunday.

“I always plan for the next stage,” she said.

Dr Young said 10 of today’s cases were under age 10.

Dr Young said the construction industry had worked with her very well on safety plans.

She said commercial building could continue, or home builds where no one was living at the property.

Emergency repairs could also continue, like mending a burst pipe.

But workers should not be working on renovations, for example, where a family was still living there.

“If you’re going into someone’s home then no, please don’t do that,” she said.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said testing would save lives, as she urged people with any symptoms to come forward.

“What we know is that the Delta variant … is leading to a higher rate of hospitalisation in NSW,” she said.

Ms D’Ath said two people in Sydney had died at home before they had gotten tested and she did not want to see that happen in Queensland.

Ms D’Ath called on employers to question whether their staff needed to come into the office.

“Can they be working from home? If the answer is yes then that’s where they should be,” she said.

She again reminded people that they were not allowed to have any visitors to their homes, as she urged Queenslanders to keep checking for exposure sites.

Ms D’Ath said this lockdown was harder for a good reason.

“We’re trying to save lives,” she said. “The rules are stricter this time.”

Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said it was regrettable that police had to attend a protest today during lockdown.

There were 205 masks handed out yesterday, with 116 calls for service.

There were 29 penalty infringement notices issued in the past 24 hours, including 18 who were outside of lockdown when they were not supposed to.

Treasurer Cameron Dick said Delta was a “different enemy”.

“The Delta variant is dangerous, the Delta variant is dire … the Delta variant is deadly,” Mr Dick.

Mr Dick announced a $260 million package to support Queensland businesses.

He said $5000 grants would be available to all Queensland businesses, recognising the impact of the Delta variant on them.

“We’re also calling on councils to look into how they could help businesses,” Mr Dick said.

Education Minister Grace Grace said the lockdown had to be “taken a day at a time”.

“We are working on learning from home and remote learning today,” she said.

“That would be available from tomorrow.”

Ms Grace said most schools had been audited about their ability to conduct remote learning.

“Like last year, no student will be disadvantaged,” she said.