Coronavirus crisis like 30 cyclones hitting Queensland at once: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has likened the impacts of coronavirus to “30 cyclones” as she shuts the state’s border to the NT, urges partying Queenslanders to “stay at home” this weekend and tells parents to keep grandkids away from grandparents.

PARTYING Queenslanders have been ordered to “stay at home” this weekend, as Queensland shuts its border to the Northern Territory and prepares to quarantine entire towns and suburbs in the coronavirus crisis.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today put remote indigenous communities on Cape York into lockdown to shield them from deadly COVID-19 infections.

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Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Health Minister Steven Miles provide an update on Queensland’s coronavirus crisis. Picture: Richard Gosling

Ms Palaszczuk also said boarding school students across Queensland may be flown home on chartered flights by the State Government so they can be with their families during the coronavirus crisis.

Ms Palaszczuk said grandparents needed to stay away from their grandchildren and urged everyone to protect those most vulnerable.

“I am not seeing my parents, this is how important it is,” she said.

“Now I’m asking my parents not to see their grandchildren for a short period of time.”

The Premier said it was “not the time for a big night out’’.

“I’m sorry to the pubs and clubs but I don’t want (people) to be having a big night out this weekend,’’ she said.

“Go home, go to your family, sit on your back deck have a glass of wine, spend time with your kids and talk to your friends.

“There is no commonsense in going to the pub and having a big night with your mates this weekend.

The Premier said there were no plans to lock down any towns at this stage because there hadn’t been a great deal of community transmission.

Describing the crisis as “30 cyclones” hitting Queensland at once, Ms Palaszczuk said the State Budget would be pushed back from April 28, however could not provide a date.

Further economic stimulus packages will be announced in coming weeks.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said no one had been admitted to intensive care yet.

The Courier-Mail understands the Government is still waiting on some of the 110 ventilators it ordered.

Dr Young said the number of cases was ramping up.

“The vast majority of those cases are down in the southeast corner where our population is, where we’d expect them to be,” she said.

“And also the vast majority are due to people coming in through the border or contacts of people coming in.

“So we now are seeing more people returning home to Queensland from overseas which is a good thing.

“They’re coming from countries where they’re seeing increased numbers of cases.”

Health Minister Steven Miles urged Queenslanders to stay home and watch the Broncos on TV.

He said no more than 100 people should gather indoors, and for smaller gatherings people should ensure that everyone in a confined space has a 2m by 2m space – the size of a queen bed or the tray of a ute.

Ms Palaszczuk said the state government would do all in its power to return children to remote communities from boarding schools as soon as possible.

She said remote indigenous communities had been locked down to allow only emergency and health visitors and food deliveries in cyclone-level shutdowns.