Covid Qld: New Covid case numbers as border tensions mount

Queensland has recorded no new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 overnight, but the Premier has warned we are “not out of the woods yet” and anticipates more cases from the Indooroopilly cluster that sent the state into lockdown on July 31.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned Queensland is “not out of the woods yet” despite recording no new Covid-19 cases overnight, as tensions mount at the NSW border.

One case was detected in hotel quarantine in a man who had returned via Dubai.

Queensland’s stellar Covid-19 outcome comes as the entire state of NSW awakes on day one of a seven-day lockdown.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the lockdown of NSW meant Queensland’s border control measures had been tightened, calling them the “tightest” controls ever put in place.

“We worked very hard yesterday, late afternoon into the evening to get extra police presence down there,” she said.

“Now because all of New South Wales is in a lockdown position, there should be very minimal movement over their border, and that extra police presence out will ensure that we will do everything we can to keep Queenslanders safe.

“This is probably the tightest border controls we’ve put in place.”

Qld’s Covid-19 Delta cluster + FNQ daily case numbers:
1
6 (lockdown called)
9
13
16
17
16
10
13
9 (lockdown ends, FNQ lockdown called)
4
3
3 (FNQ lockdown ends)
10
7
6
ZERO@couriermail#covid19qldpic.twitter.com/neK0CreSqu

— Madura McCormack (@MaduraMcCormack) August 15, 2021

Police commissioner Katarina Carroll said every single car coming into Queensland would be intercepted.

Ms Carroll also asked for people to patient at the Queensland-NSW border as she expects queues to form.

“I ask Queenslanders not to travel into New South Wales, and those coming from New South Wales can only come in if they have an exemption or part of the essential working group,” she said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Jono Searle

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

Ms Palaszczuk said she still expected more cases from the Indooroopilly cluster and that Queensland is not “out of the woods yet”.

Deputy Chief Health Officer James Smith said the man who tested positive arrived in the country on a flight from Dubai and other passengers on that flight would be notified shortly.

He said the fact we had no new community transmission today meant we were headed in the right direction.

Ms Palaszczuk said regarding the Queensland/New South Wales border that authorities worked very hard to get extra police in place on Saturday night.

She said it was the tightest border controls the government had put in place.

She said we would continue to see cases and people needed to remain vigilant and get tested if someone had any experiences.

She said anyone living on the Gold Coast should wear their mask at all times given how close the NSW border is.

Ms Carroll said three nightclubs had been slapped with “hefty fines” worth nearly $7000 each on Saturday night.

The nightclubs, all in the Brisbane area, had been warned about non-compliance to the rules, including customers not wearing masks, having too many people in one space and people standing up while having drinks.

There more than 13,000 tests carried out on Saturday which is a bit down from previous day but Dr Smith asked people to continue getting tested.

More than 11,000 vaccines were administered yesterday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a deal to secure an extra 1 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine from Poland.

Mr Morrison said the federal government had been in discussions with their Polish counterparts for “several weeks”, with the outbreak in NSW a key factor in securing the shipment from the country.

The doses, manufactured in Belgium, will start landing in Australia tonight.

NSW recorded 466 infections on Saturday leaving the entire state in lockdown and strict new limits for exercise, travel and real estate.

It came after Premier Gladys Berejiklian gave powers to police to launch “Operation Stay At Home”.

Tensions are mounting at the border as residents who need to cross the border daily for work have been effectively shut out of both states.

The Queensland Government is expected to respond to the lockdown by banning all NSW residents, except emergency service, health workers and freight drivers from crossing the border.

Meanwhile, Victoria recorded 25 locally acquired cases of coronavirus on Sunday, with four new mystery cases emerging.

“Of the 25 locally acquired cases, 21 are linked to known outbreaks and 12 have been in isolation throughout their infectious period,” Victorian Department of Health officials said.