50 new coronavirus cases pushes state tally to 493
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has confirmed a Brisbane City Council employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19, while a health alert has been issued after a positive case at one of the state’s top restaurants. ROLLING UPDATES
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BRISBANE Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has confirmed a Brisbane City Council employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19 while they were in social isolation.
“This employee, who is part of an operational team, had been travelling overseas and had not yet returned to the workplace, when they were diagnosed while in self-isolation,” Cr Schrinner said.
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He said the council was working with Queensland Health and other relevant agencies to ensure the wellbeing of the employee and individuals who may have been in contact.
“The safety, health and wellbeing of all our staff is an absolute priority and we will do what we can to support this employee and their family during this time,” he said.
He said more than half of the council’s office-based staff were working from home to minimise risk of transmission in the workplace or public transport.
VIRUS ALERT FOR TOP RESTAURANT AND SURF CLUB AFTER POSITIVE CASE
QUEENSLAND Health has issued a public health alert for venues on the Sunshine Coast, including the Land and Sea Brewery at Noosaville, after a patron tested positive for COVID-19.
It comes as the number of coronavirus cases in Queensland has jumped again, with 50 new cases taking the state’s total to 493.
The department said the case attended the brewery between 1-3pm on Friday March 13, Sum Young Guys Restaurant at Sunshine Beach between 6.45-8.45pm on the same day and the Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club on Saturday March 14, between 3.45-11.30pm and Sunday March 15 between 12.30-2pm.
The case is among 50 new patients with the novel coronavirus in Queensland, taking the state’s over numbers to 493.
It comes following the death of a Toowoomba man yesterday, the state’s second fatality.
Garry Kirstenfeld, 68, had been on the Ruby Princess cruise ship which docked in Sydney on March 18.
He is understood to have had a chronic respiratory condition which put him at increased risk from the pandemic coronavirus strain. He died in Toowoomba Hospital. His wife and other members of his immediate family are in isolation.
Questioned about this weekend’s council election, Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young says it’s safe for people to vote if they practise social distancing.
“There is no risk going to vote on Saturday. I’m more concerned with people going to Dan Murphy’s, the scenes I’ve seen there are appalling,” she told reporters.
“Go in, vote, and leave.”
Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said thousands of people across the state had been tested for the virus.
“As of this morning we’ve tested 40,946 people and it is that testing, that world best level of testing that is allowing us to contain this virus,” he said.
“Right now we have no Queenslanders in intensive care which is much lower than level of hospitalisation and intensive care seen anywhere else in the world and that’s precisely because of our high level of testing.”
Dr Miles said it was crucial Queenslanders complied with the social distancing and quarantine guidelines put in place.
“Whether you’re young or old rich or poor we need every single Queenslander to comply with these rules,” he said.
“The spread of the virus from the restaurant at Noosa that we learnt about yesterday underlines just how easily this can spread if we have groups together and especially if we have groups together from different parts of the state.
“That’s why that limit on gatherings is just so crucial.”
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It comes as the State Government announced that Queensland schools will close from next week to all but the children of essential services.
Schools will move to pupil-free days from next week, although anyone with a job would still be able to send their children to school.
Dr Miles said the state could have lost up to 30 per cent of its health staff if schools had completely closed.
“It’s incredibly important that our health staff continue to be able to send their children to school,” he said.
“Modelling by our hospitals suggested if they had been unable to do that it would have potentially impacted on 30 per cent of our health workforce.
HAIRDRESSERS RENEW CALL FOR TOTAL BAN DESPITE BACKFLIP
HAIRDRESSERS are urging the government to rip of the Band Aid and enforce studio closures, saying the industry has been left in disarray after the government backflipped on coronavirus security laws.
On Wednesday, the Government limited hair appointments to a maximum of 30-minutes in duration – confines that were too narrow for boutique salons, with many announcing temporary closures last night.
The Government reversed those laws on Thursday, however hairdressers say the damage has already been done with both staff and clients fearful of virus exposure in longer appointments.
Lujo Hair and Beauty Owner Ashleigh Maguire said the decision to close had only created more uncertainty.
“People are going to think that maybe the hairdresser is an unsafe environment,” she said.
“They’re questioning why did it go from just being 30 minute appointments to being okay now?”
Studios across Brisbane – including Lujo Hair and Beauty, Blondee Salon and Mikki Auld Hair – embarked of grooming marathons on Wednesday working from morning until midnight on what they assumed was their final day of operation.
Yesterday when the appointment curfews were revoked, studio owners said there was ‘absolutely’ no rejoicing.
“I felt like I’d ripped off a Band Aid, but to wake up this morning and hear that’s been changed again, it’s so defeating,” said Mikki Auld Hair owner Mikki Auld.
Ms Maguire said she felt trapped between financial risk of closing and the health risk of opening and would have to 'think hard' before making a decision about whether her studio would remain open.
“We’re just in limbo, we’re not sure what to do and what the right decision is to make,” said Ms Maguire.
Studio owners and employees said they were simply seeking closure – in every sense of the word.
“As a community we all have the same concept, there’s forums going about this whole situation, everyone just wants to be closed,” said Lujo Hair and Beauty hairdresser Jord Voss.
“I feel like we’re heading into doomsday and we’re slowly waiting for it to come, whereas I feel if we just do a shut down, get it over and done with we can then start being more positive about what’s to come,” said Blondee Salon owner Faith Williams.
$13,000 FINES FOR ARRIVALS NOT SELF-ISOLATING
INCOMING passengers at Brisbane Airport are being handed a two-page form to fill out which threatens them with a $13,000 fine if they don’t stay in their home as authorities battle to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The form asks if the person is a Queensland resident or whether they live or work close to the border of New South Wales, South Australia or the Northern Territory.
Police and Queensland Fire and Emergency Service personnel were sent to Brisbane Airport today to give the notices to all people arriving from incoming flights.
The form asks for the person’s address, phone and date of birth as well as names of family members and dependents.
It’s understood more than 30 people in emergency services were asked to hand out the forms.
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