Covid Qld: Latest case numbers as authorities battle outbreak on four fronts

Queensland has recorded six new Covid-19 cases as the outbreak continues to spread, with multiple communities returning to stage two restrictions and the capacity for the NRL grand final to be cut, as the Premier confirms there will be a lockdown “as soon as the chief health officer says so”.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queensland will avoid a lockdown, for now, but strict restrictions have been put in place and the NRL grand final capacity will be cut by 25 per cent after six new cases were confirmed, including one in Townsville.

Four of the cases are linked to the aviation cluster including one pilot who flew to Townsville with reports that a man was transported from the Hotel Chancellor to Townsville Hospital on Wednesday night.

He subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 and has been infectious in the community for seven days.

One of the two unlinked cases is a Brisbane woman who travelled to NSW and tested positive after returning.

The sixth case is a woman who returned home to Queensland from Melbourne, flying on flight VA333. She went into hotel quarantine and tested positive to the Delta variant.

Planes

Ms Palaszczuk denied she was delaying a lockdown so the NRL grand final could go ahead on Sunday.

“The health of Queenslanders comes first, as soon as Dr Young says we need to go into lockdown, we will,” she said, adding she was “not too concerned”, in spite of the new cases, but announced a number of strict restrictions would be put back in place.

She said there were four critical measures that residents needed to follow: get tested to ensure the virus wasn’t spreading in the community, get vaccinated, wear masks and check in wherever they go.

SEE THE FULL LIST OF RESTRICTIONS HERE

Brisbane, Gold Coast, Logan, Moreton Bay, Townsville and Palm Island will return to stage two restrictions for at least two weeks from 4pm today.

It means the number of people allowed to gather in homes and public will be reduced to 30.

Weddings and funerals will be capped at 100 attendees.

Only 20 will be allowed to dance at weddings.

Restaurants and cafes will return to one person per 4sqm.

The crowd at Sunday’s NRL grand final will be cut by 25 per cent in an effort to 75 per cent.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The NRL has been left scrambling ahead of Sunday’s showdown between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Penrith Panthers, with fans set to be stripped of tickets.

The match had already been declared a sell-out at the 52,000-seat stadium for the first NRL grand final to be held in Queensland, but capacity has now been reduced to 39,000.

Under ticketing rules, it will be first in best dressed, meaning the thousands who snapped up a final allocation of tickets on Monday face the prospect of having those tickets cancelled.

“We want to make sure this is not seeding in the community,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“We’ve got to put these restrictions in place to avoid a lockdown at this stage.

“We can get through this if we all do the right thing.”

Ms Palaszczuk said the next two days would be “absolutely critical”.

She said it was “good news” four of the six cases were linked to the known cluster.

She said people need to think long and hard before making movements especially those going over the border.

She said the recent further restrictions on freight drivers were necessary while there were so many positive cases crossing the border.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the source of the aviation cluster was likely an event which happened on the 20th of September.

Dr Young said they were likely out in the community while infectious from the 21st.

Dr Young said the four cases were “all clearly linked” and said there was no community transmission.

The Brisbane woman, from Camp Hill, travelled to Kyogle in NSW before acquiring Delta and returning.

Dr Young said there was no further cases from the truck driver who arrived from Sydney and spent time around Spring Hill.

It took us a while to get all of the absolute details on where he’s been,” she said.

“We finally got them on our website late yesterday afternoon.”

She said it “was a concern” case numbers were growing.

Dr Young said the NRL final would be capped to “decrease the number of people” going to the game and reduce the risk of spreading.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the restrictions would “slow down movement” in the community and assist contact tracers.

“Dr Young is confident that a lockdown isn’t needed right now, but that can all change quickly,” she said.

It comes as authorities continue to scramble to track contact locations from a truckie who failed to check in to eateries and hotels in the inner city for over a week, while a woman tested positive late on Wednesday night after a trip to NSW in a possible border breach.

Testing facilities have been swamped by locals who may have come into contact with one of the cases at the growing list of exposure sites.

The hysteria comes after Queensland Health took several hours to update the list of exposure sites on Wednesday.

Ms D’Ath said testing would be extended across the affected local government areas in response to the case increase.

A long queue at the Bowen Hills testing clinic on Thursday morning. Picture: Samantha Scott

People can visit private pathologists in the affected LGAs and not require a referral to get a test.

Meanwhile, rugby officials are confident Saturday’s Test match between the Wallabies and Argentina will go ahead despite the Pumas’ Byron Bay border bungle.

Police are on standby to escort members of the team into hotel quarantine after their bizarre day trip to Byron Bay plunged Saturday’s Test match against Australia on the Gold Coast into doubt.

She highlighted the tragedy that there were 22 deaths combined in Victoria and NSW in just 24 hours.

“There was someone dying every single hour from Covid in just two states, we want to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Ms D’Ath said.

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said 13,626 vehicles were intercepted at the border, with about 100 turned around.

There were 14,216 tests in the past 24 hours.