No new local cases as QLD races to contain twin Delta outbreaks

Queensland can breathe a temporary sigh of relief with no new local Covid cases recorded today but authorities warn the danger of twin Delta outbreaks remains.

Queensland has recorded no new locally-acquired Covid cases today in good news as the state races to contain twin Delta outbreaks.

One overseas acquired case was detected in hotel quarantine.

But the zero local cases is a relief for authorities who warned Queenslanders to remain on high alert to signs of the Covid-19 virus as the state works to extinguish two new Delta variant outbreaks.

Masks still need to be worn for another seven days across the southeast after several community cases were recorded this week.

One expert described the ongoing situation as “precarious”.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced no new community cases. Picture: Jono Searle

As Sydney and Victoria battle growing outbreaks of the virus, Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the next seven days would be critical for Queensland after she confirmed yesterday a Redcliffe family of three, including a 12-year-old boy and his parents, had all tested positive to the extremely contagious Delta variant.

The boy caught the virus while in hotel quarantine in Sydney and passed it on to his parents, with fears it could have spread beyond the family out into the Queensland community. Contact tracers have identified more than 60 contacts so far.

Drive-through Covid testing site at Highgate Hill in Brisbane. Photo: David Clark.

“This is the Delta variant that has spread very, very rapidly within Sydney,” Dr Young warned. “All of us need to take this extraordinarily seriously for the next seven days and I will know in the next seven days whether we’re facing a significant risk or not.”

Dr Young also confirmed a Brisbane International Airport boarding gate supervisor has the Delta variant of the virus, the genome sequence showing no known link in Queensland or Australia.

“I’m quite convinced that we have today in Queensland two new outbreaks, they are not related to all of the other outbreaks that we were dealing with,” Dr Young said.

“It’s really, really important we maintain our restrictions for another seven days. Wearing masks makes a big difference, we know that.”

From 1am today, Queensland’s borders will be closed to Victoria, which is back in lockdown for five days, triggered by an ongoing Delta variant outbreak of at least 39 cases.

Victoria today recorded 19 new cases.

Meanwhile, in the month since a Covid infection was reported in a Sydney limousine driver, more than 1000 cases of the virus have been recorded across Greater Sydney, including 97 yesterday.

Although Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, NSW Central Coast, Wollongong and Shell Harbour remain hot spots, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has so far stopped short of declaring a hard border with the whole of NSW, saying the situation was being reviewed daily.

“We are monitoring it very, very closely,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “I can absolutely assure Queensland of that.”

Lorraine and Greg pictured at the Brisbane Domestic Airport after arriving back from Victoria after visiting their first grandchild. They arrived before Queensland closed its border to Victoria. Photo: Josh Woning.

Brisbane-based infectious disease physician Paul Griffin said he was not surprised the variant sweeping Greater Sydney had spread to Queensland.

He warned Queenslanders to expect further lockdowns and restrictions until Australia could vastly improve its rates of COVID-19 vaccinations.

“Realistically, until we have our vaccination rate sufficiently high, we are in a precarious situation moving forward,” Associate Professor Griffin said.

“There are always going to be cases coming back from overseas. Very likely there’ll be cases in this country, in one state or another, at any one time.

“I really think that we need to not think this is something that happens infrequently, just be prepared for it to be the situation moving forward and do everything we can to make sure we can control it until enough people are vaccinated.”

University of Queensland virologist Ian Mackay joined Prof Griffin in urging Queenslanders to make wearing masks “the new normal” when they were unable to socially distance, such as on public transport and in shopping centres.

“Masks are not perfect. They’re not worn perfectly either, so often you see people wearing masks underneath their nose,” Associate Professor Mackay said.

“But I think we should keep wearing them. It’s one thing we can do on a multi-layered Swiss cheese approach to prevent transmission of viruses.

“I think we’d be silly not to have learned the lesson that masks can have a role in preventing transmission of things that make us sick and make other people sick because we pass it onto them.”

Drive-through Covid testing site at Highgate Hill. Photo: David Clark.

Compliance with restrictions continues to remain an issue for some.

Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said of the more than 1600 vehicles stopped at the state’s borders in the 24 hours to yesterday morning, two attempted to enter “on false declarations”, including one driven by a 79-year-old and a limousine carrying three female passengers.

Queensland Police said the limousine was stopped at a Covid border checkpoint along the M1 at Tugun about 4pm on Thursday.

Police will allege the 43-year-old driver did not have a Queensland Border Pass and had travelled to Sydney – a declared NSW hotspot – within the past 14 days.

The driver has returned to his home in NSW and his three female passengers, aged 33, 36 and 42, who are all Queensland residents, have been placed in hotel quarantine.

“The three passengers are not co-operating at the moment so further investigations are ongoing and the driver has been fined $4135 for a false declaration,” Mr Gollschewski said.

The 79-year-old driver of the other vehicle has been placed in hotel quarantine on the Gold Coast.

Queensland Health last night added to its list of exposure sites, with new public health alerts issued for venues from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast.

For information on the exposure sites: https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/current-status/contact-tracing