‘Just need that 24 hours’: 5 new cases, lockdown extended for Brisbane, Moreton Bay

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced that lockdown will end at 6pm for all Queensland local government areas except Brisbane and Moreton Bay as the state records five new cases – three locally acquired.

Lockdown has been extended for Brisbane and Moreton Bay for another 24 hours as Queensland recorded five new cases of the Covid-19 virus overnight, including three that are locally acquired.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said one of the new local cases was the partner of the Qatar Airways case.

Two more were a mother and daughter in Carindale, who had been out and about extensively throughout Brisbane.

“We really need our contact tracers to get on top of this issue today,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk has announced that the lockdown will end in a range of council areas including Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Townsville.

But she said restrictions would still apply, including wearing a mask outside their homes.

“This is our added protection at the moment until everyone gets their vaccine,” the Premier said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (front) and Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

She said for people in Brisbane and Moreton Bay local government areas the lockdown would continue for another 24 hours.

“It is absolutely vital we get on top of this today. We just need that 24 hours,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

She said at National Cabinet today Queensland would be asking for an immediate reduction on international arrivals by 50 per cent.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the Qatar Airways case and her partner had the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus.

Dr Young said the woman’s partner, a baggage handler, had given the virus to the check-in counter worker.

She said she had no information on how the mother and daughter had developed the virus.

Dr Young said the woman and her daughter spent most of the day at the Greek Orthodox community centre on Monday and Tuesday.

Dr Young said they had been to a lot of venues which would keep contact tracers busy.

“I hope to be able to get genome sequencing by the end of today, which would help them with risk assessment,” she said.

Dr Young said she had only been informed about the Carindale mother and daughter’s positive tests “in the middle of the night”.

“I think it’s important to get this out as soon as I get the information,” she said.

Dr Young said she was still waiting for information around the other members of the household where the mother and daughter live.

Dr Young said it was too early to say whether the lockdown in Brisbane and Moreton Bay regions would need to be extended again.

“It’s too hypothetical,” she said.

Dr Young said she was thrilled to see the amount of testing in Queensland for the Covid-19.

She said Queensland did more than 26,000 tests in the past 24 hours.

“With that amount of testing, I can be reasonably comfortable that it’s unlikely we have a significant chain of transmission going on,” Dr Young said.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the 1a group was continuing to be vaccinated.

She said authorities were ramping up capabilities at the state’s five Covid hospitals over the weekend to administer vaccines to staff.

Meanwhile a 69-year-old male Covid patient connected to the Portuguese Family Centre cluster is being treated in ICU.

He is not currently on a ventilator.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said overnight Queensland’s hotel quarantine system hit capacity.

“Today we are expecting 259 arrivals, including 58 air crew,” Mr Miles said.

“We have 285 rooms becoming available. It’s absolutely critical that we see that cut in international visitors.”
Mr Miles again urged the federal government to cut the number of international arrivals.

Police said four fines were issued yesterday, including one arrest where police allege someone refused to wear a mask.

Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said Queensland had 3097 people in hotel quarantine at the moment.

“That’s across 15 hotels. We are working very hard with health to manage that,” he said.

The Premier conceded the lockdown had been “incredibly difficult” for small businesses but dubbed lockdowns as a “weapon” that authorities had to combat Covid-19.

“Unfortunately we’re in a world pandemic,” she said.

“No one knew that the virus was going to keep mutating.

“Like I’ve said we need to get the population vaccinated … we’ll be in a position where we don’t have to do these lockdowns.”