Covid Qld: Boulevard Early Learning Centre and Windaroo State School closed after young girl tests positive to Covid-19

Authorities are scrambling to test everyone linked to a daycare and school attended by a Covid-positive four-year-old. The results will determine whether another lockdown is required.

A young child has tested positive to Covid-19, forcing an entire southeast primary school into quarantine and placing restrictions on certain aged care facilities, hospitals and disability services.

The four-year-old girl is a close contact of a 46-year-old Logan truck driver who triggered an alert this week.

The child attended the Boulevard Early Learning Centre – Mt Warren Park on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, with children, staff and visitors urged to immediately get tested and quarantine at home with household members for two weeks – regardless of a negative result.

The centre is also used as an after school care for students who attend Windaroo State School, with all students, staff and visitors who attended the school between Tuesday and Friday to quarantine with their household members for 14 days.

The school late on Friday confirmed in an email to parents that it would be closed for two weeks.

Windaroo State School principal, Alisha LeBrese said she had been liaising with Queensland Health to ensure the safety and well-being of school children and students.

“All school, school events and activities are closed and postponed until the quarantine period ends and we have advised that we can resume,” Ms LeBrese said.

For those who require testing, a COVID-19 drive-through collection centre will be located at Eden’s Landing on September 4 and 5.

The unfolding situation has also forced authorities to reinstate visitor restrictions at aged care facilities, disability services and hospitals in the Logan Local Government area.

Contact tracers were on Friday night scrambling to get in touch with those impacted, with more information to be provided on Saturday.

It’s understood testing was being undertaken on Friday night with the results to determine whether another lockdown is required.

Meanwhile, Queensland would remain an isolated kingdom until a splintered approach to reopening under Covid, with Scott Morrison confirming there may be a future in which states like NSW open international borders and others remain cut off.

The Prime Minister painted the fractured picture after a fortnight of hesitation by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to remain committed to the national plan informed by Doherty modelling of case numbers once vaccination levels reach 80 per cent and restrictions are relaxed, making it clear the rest of the nation wouldn’t wait.

But after loud criticism of her use of worst-case scenario modelling to highlight death numbers and concerns around sick children that haven’t been backed by medical professionals, a more measured Ms Palaszczuk backed a more “constructive debate” going forward and finally apologised over her government’s decision to allow in an NRL entourage while borders were closed to returning Queenslanders.

It came before the national cabinet meeting where further Doherty Institute modelling, focused on reopening with the current case numbers in NSW, was presented.

The details of the updated modelling is expected to be made public next week.

It is understood there was further discussion about what public health measures can be removed once vaccination rates hit the 70 per cent and 80 per cent milestones, but no final decisions were made.

Earlier Mr Morrison confirmed international borders would open for states that reached 80 per cent vaccination, if they wanted it, without waiting for those jurisdictions lagging behind.

Windaroo State School is closed for two weeks after parents and students were told to isolate for 14 days regardless of a positive or negative Covid-19 test result.

“The national plan (for reopening) sets that out very clearly,” he said.

Under the national plan, all restrictions on outbound travel are lifted for vaccinated Australians and travel bubbles will be expanded to countries such as Singapore and the Pacific Islands, pending agreements being struck, once 80 per cent vaccination rates are hit.

Queensland has the second lowest vaccination levels, at 32.9 per cent double doses and 51.6 per cent with a single dose.

Despite Ms Palaszczuk’s comments this week, Mr Morrison said all states and territories had agreed to the national plan.

“It doesn’t come without risks and it’s important it is done safely and it is a safe plan,” he said.

“It sees a soft opening as you ease into a more broad opening when we hit 80 per cent.”

Mr Morrison described the Premier’s comments that 2240 people would die every month if the nation opened up at 70 per cent as a “misreading” of the Doherty analysis and a “scenario where there is no ongoing vaccination, where there are virtually no public health, social measures in place and that’s not what the national plan indicated”.

Meanwhile, three days after The Courier-Mail revealed exemptions had been granted for NRL players’ families, and following days of sustained criticism both in the community and in Queensland Parliament, the Premier conceded it wasn’t the right decision.

“It was not the right thing to do when we had the pause (on hotel quarantine),” she said.

“It shouldn’t have happened.

“Unfortunately, it did happen, and I extend my apologies to the public about that.”

It came after the state government defended the decision all week.