New school mask rules as five Brisbane schools caught in Covid cluster

Five Brisbane schools are considered Covid-19 exposure sites after being linked to the latest cluster of the highly infectious Delta strain, forcing authorities to also change mask rules for schools.

Five Queensland schools have been caught up in southeast Queensland’s latest Covid-19 cluster with students and members of school communities testing positive to the Delta strain.

With Queensland’s nine new cases linked to the Indooroopilly cluster, five schools are now considered exposure sites.

Indooroopilly State High School, Ironside State School, St Peters Lutheran College, Brisbane Grammar School and Brisbane Girls Grammar School all have links to the cluster.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said four of the new cases were linked to a karate school held at Ironside State School.

“That karate school is held at Ironside State School but is attended by children from other schools and their parents.,” he said.

“One of the new cases from the karate school is a student from Brisbane Boys Grammar. There is one case which is a household contact, a father of the boy at Brisbane Boys Grammar.”

He said two cases were linked to Indooroopilly State High School and two linked to Ironside State School.

On Saturday night Brisbane Grammar School emailed parents to alert that a student had tested positive to Covid-19, with anyone at their Spring Hill campus on July 28, 29 and 30 required to isolate at home until further advice was provided directly by Queensland Health authorities.

Brisbane Grammar School. (AAP Image/Josh Woning)

Meanwhile, St Peters Lutheran College in Indooroopilly also sent out a late email to parents saying the school had been identified by Queensland Health as a potential exposure site.

“They (Queensland Health) have asked for all members of the St Peter’s community to quarantine/isolate in place until further notice,” the email read.

Another exposure site was Brisbane Girls Grammar School, including those who attended an open day at the school.

It comes as a new mask mandate will begin in schools from Monday with all children in secondary school required to wear masks.

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said teachers and staff members across all primary and secondary schools in the 11 LGAs in lockdown would need to wear masks.

“We have introduced when schools are back on Monday and Tuesday for that very small number of children of essential workers or vulnerable children, all children in secondary school that they must wear masks and all teachers in primary school or high school, unless they are teaching children that are deaf, must wear masks,” she said.