Coronavirus QLD: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reveals 11 new cases overnight

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared she will “smash” coronavirus in Queensland but warned against complacency towards current movement restrictions, as the state recorded just 11 new cases on the final day of the Easter long weekend.

PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared she will “smash” coronavirus in Queensland but warned against complacency towards current movement restrictions as the curve continues to flatten.

Queensland Health recorded 11 positive cases of COVID-19 overnight, totalling 35 for the Easter long weekend and bringing the state’s overall total to 998.

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“We are really going well with flattening that curve and like I said let’s smash it,” Ms Palaszczuk told Nine Network’s Today.

The Premier warned against complacency and calls to ease restrictions on movement and social gatherings in the coming weeks.

“I don’t think people can feel complacent that just because we’ve had low numbers that that’s the end of it, because what we are doing is we are flattening the curve,” she said.

“If you lift too early, of course, you see what has happened in other countries where those high rates of infection are causing their hospital systems to reach full capacity and we don’t want to see that happening in Australia.”

Ms Palaszczuk said the government is waiting on modelling for Queensland around how best to ease restrictions into the future.

Tuesday, 14 April – coronavirus cases in Queensland:

• 11 new confirmed cases
• 998 total confirmed cases
• 74,013 tests conducted

Sadly, five Queenslanders have died from coronavirus. 442 patients have recovered.#coronavirus pic.twitter.com/CxP4IMuwrX

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 13, 2020

“We’ve got to get the balance right,” she said.

“I think we are in a unique position here because now we can actually see some of those European countries lift restrictions after going through those high spikes and I think we can get a gauge on how that is working. The World Health Organisation just said this morning too that it’s very important how you ease those restrictions.

“Everyone is doing a great job but we’ve only just gone into staying at home and social distancing, it’s only been working for two or three weeks, this is a long haul, this is a marathon.”

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said after expanding testing in Cairns, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, there had been no other areas of the state with similar levels of community transmission.

“At this stage, we’re not extending to other parts of the state but were we to get increased cases elsewhere of course we would,” she said.

“At the moment in Queensland, there’s very limited community transmission, we’re seeing a lot more in Sydney which is why I’ve asked the people who return from Sydney need to go into quarantine for 14 days and we’ve also seen an increase in community transmission down in Victoria.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she would clarify whether parents or carers working from home could send their kids to school.

“My understanding is that if there is a parent that’s in the workplace then the children can attend school but I’ll clarify that,” she said.

The Premier praised the Prime Minister and all of the states who have been working together and is open to National Cabinet being extended, as opposed to COAG.

“I think it’s really important here, the Prime Minister is listening to the states and he is responding and the level of cooperation is phenomenal so why would you not capture that and keep that going into the future,” she said.

The Premier said the state would need very clear health advice before lifting restrictions.

NO PLANS TO REOPEN DOMESTIC TOURISM EARLY

The Premier said reopening domestic tourism into Queensland would be “the most negligent thing to do”.

“I know that tourism operators are struggling, Cairns is a tourism industry megacentre,” Ms Palaszczuk told ABC News Breakfast.

“We can’t open up tourism, it would be absolutely negligent to open up tourism when we are flattening the curve.”

The Premier stood firm that current restrictions would remain in place for “many more months”.

“We don’t want to give any false sense of hope [to people] that suddenly there is going to be planes flying in the sky in the next two months and tourism is going to be back to normal because we are in a world pandemic,” she said.

The State Government has announced $28 million for the non-government sector to help people with mental health or who are facing drug and alcohol issues.

Health Minister Steven Miles said 11 people were in intensive care units across the state.

He said Queensland’s low transmission rate made the state the envy of the world.

CONCERN OVER NRL RELAUNCH PLANS

The Premier said she was very concerned about the NRL potentially restarting next month and felt talks today between broadcasters and clubs were sending a “mixed message out to the public”.

“I’m really concerned about my Queensland players frankly, going down to Sydney all you need is one community transmission down in Sydney and the whole team could possibly have it,” she said.

“It would have to be very strict quarantine, I would have to get health advice from my Chief Health Officers.”

The Premier said it was also “devastating” the State of Origin would not go ahead as planned this year as well, but that she had to follow the health advice related to sporting events.

“That’s not to say that footy won’t return in the future but we can’t pinpoint a date on that at the moment,” she said.

Annastacia Palaszczuk addresses the media on Monday. Photo Steve Pohlner

FREE INTERNET FOR STUDENTS

It comes as several thousand sim cards will be issued to Queensland students who are unable to access the internet to learn remotely while coronavirus restrictions are in place.

Queensland schools will switch to remote learning but remain open for vulnerable students and children of essential workers when the second term begins on Monday.

Education Minister Grace Grace said they were working with Telstra to provide 5000 sim cards that would grant internet access for stay-at-home students. She acknowledged that it will be testing times for parents who will supervise their children at home.

“We’re going to ensure as much as we can that students have the availability to have devices either from schools or to be able to have them lent or borrowed to them,” Ms Grace said.

“Parents, of course, have a new role and we know it’s not going to be easy.” Staff at schools and childcare centres are now on the list of those who can be tested for COVID-19.

Teachers will be required at public schools when the second term starts again on Monday and remote learning will be in place until May 22.

Ms Palaszczuk says, on the advice of the chief health officer, that it is safe for staff to return to work and students to attend school.

“By May 15, we will once again let people know definitely which way to go,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Teachers will be going to school, just as the teacher aides and the cleaners, and everybody else who makes up that school community.” Ms Palaszczuk said “we are in extraordinary times” and she believed many would be comfortable with the decision to open schools, with the measures also applying to kindergartens.

Just 35 new cases were recorded from Good Friday to Easter Monday, taking the total number of Queensland positive COVID-19 tests to 987 of which 442 have recovered.

Although the daily rate of positive tests has now been reduced to single figures, public gathering restrictions will remain in place. A rescue flight of Australians from the Peruvian capital Lima is expected to arrive in Brisbane on Tuesday.