Covid Qld: New cases revealed on eve of restrictions being eased in the southeast
The highly infectious Delta variant “could be could be in our community any day now”, with just one case able to result in thousands, Queenslanders have been warned, as the Premier flags a “magical window” for people to get vaccinated.
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Queenslanders have been urged to make the most of the “magical vaccination window” to get protection against Covid-19 as the threat of the Delta variant across the border in NSW continues to keep authorities on edge.
The highly infectious variant “could be could be in our community any day now”, Queenslanders have been told, with just one case able to result in thousands.
Queensland on Thursday recorded no new cases of Covid-19 – the fourth day in a row without a community transmission, but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned more work was needed to increase protection in the community
“We want to see the Queensland vaccination rates increase,” she said.
Meanwhile, New South Wales recorded 681 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases and will extend its statewide lockdown to August 28.
Logan and Caboolture have been identified as areas to increase vaccination rates.
Ms Palaszczuk urged people to continue to get tested so authorities could find the first case of the next potential outbreak.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said it could take “just one case of Delta ... to end up with thousands of cases”.
Dr Young said the sooner people got vaccinated, the sooner centres like the Logan Entertainment Centre could be used again for performances.
She urged pregnant women, in particular, to get vaccinated.
“We know if you get infected, you’ll do much worse than another person your age,” she said.
The jab would protect mother and baby, she said.
Dr Young said the advice about pregnant or breastfeeding women had been “totally flipped on its head” and they were now strongly encouraged to get the jab to protect themselves and their baby.
“Please please please come and get vaccinated,” she said.
Logan Entertainment Centre will be ramped up to do 3000 vaccinations a day in coming weeks.
The Logan Entertainment Centre will deliver about 1500 vaccinations each day, making it the second largest in the state behind Brisbane.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said people who already had the jab should now ask their friends and family whether they had been.
“New South Wales, ACT, Victoria and now New Zealand are seeing an increasing number of cases,” she said.
“It could be in our community any day now.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the government had requested the Australian army to assist Queensland Police on the state’s border, and said the government was waiting for a formal response.
She said the army had assisted on the border previously, and understood the state’s request was being “considered favourably” by the Federal Government.
Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland had a “magical window” to get vaccinated.
Treasurer Cameron Dick said just 0.5 per cent of the thousands of vaccine appointments at the Logan Entertainment Centre had gone unfilled, and he encouraged his community to get vaccinated.
“The freedoms we’re enjoying in Queensland are denied to millions of Australians,” he said.
“Complacency is our enemy when it comes to Covid-19.”
Queensland Police Service Assistant Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said more than 6000 people crossed the border on Wednesday - which he declared was “too many people”.
He said police also handed out 267 masks across Queensland.
There are 1800 people in home quarantine and more than 14,000 tests were conducted yesterday, and Ms Palaszczuk also announced a new advertising campaign to increase vaccination rates.
Ms Palaszczuk also put out a call to Queensland’s multicultural community and revealed the state would launch a campaign to encourage them to get vaccinated.
The pre-emptive campaign aims to avoid the slow take-up of vaccinations in Sydney.
“We’re going to make sure that definitely does not happen here in Queensland,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Ms Palaszczuk said there were “small planes” flying across the decentralised state to ensure people in regional centres could be vaccinated.
Queensland authorities are assessing the definition of an essential worker and Ms Palaszczuk said it would be a “very narrow list” of people permitted to cross the border.
“At the moment NSW has a stay-at-home order for the entire population,” she said.
“This is about safety and as Dr Young said it only takes one person to cross that border with Delta and all bets are off.”
The Premier also revealed the government was considering opening vaccination centres at school halls, community centres and in mobile vans.
“For us to do that we need the supply,” she said.
“We have the capacity to ramp up - but we need the additional supply from the Federal Government.”
It comes after news restrictions will ease across southeast Queensland two days earlier than expected after the state also recorded no new coronavirus cases on Wednesday.
Ms Palaszczuk said restrictions, which were slated to ease at 4pm on Sunday, would now ease at 4pm Friday.
From that time, in the 11 local government areas of southeast Queensland, community sport will be allowed to recommence, and up to 30 visitors will be allowed at homes and in public spaces.
Meanwhile, troops are being deployed to the border as the NSW Covid crisis spirals out of control, after the Palaszczuk Government pleaded for back-up.
Soldiers will begin guarding border checkpoints from next week, and the definition of essential workers will toughened even further as Queensland moves to barricade itself from the Covid-ravaged southern state amid warnings just one Delta case could trigger a lockdown.
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