Qld Health: expect masks rules to be enforced in Gympie region

Residents are being urged to follow mask rules as another 589 Covid cases were recorded across Queensland in the past 24 hours.

Mask mandates could soon be enforced in regional areas including Gympie as another 589 Covid cases were recorded in Queensland over the past 24 hours as some testing clinics have started turning people away.

The Little parliament cafe at Rainbow Beach remains the only exposure site recorded within Gympie area despite the surge, with two active cases reported in the region.

An infected person visited the Rainbow Beach Rd cafe between 3pm-3.30pm on Monday, December 20.

Anyone who was at the cafe at that time has been identified as a casual contact.

Queensland Health has not yet revealed whether any of the new cases were recorded in the Gympie region, with official data showing eight cases.

Four of these were acquired overseas, while another two were acquired locally and the remainder are under investigation.

There are now more than 1300 active Covid cases across Queensland, spread across 32 of its 77 council areas.

An infected guest visited the Little Parliament cafe at Rainbow Beach Rd on Monday December 20.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said Friday people living in regional areas may be forced to comply with the State’s mask mandates for the first time.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said the thousands of daily new infections expected in January will put pressure on the hospital system.

That pressure is already being felt at the northern end of the Wide Bay Burnett.

Residents trying to attend Bundaberg’s fever clinic are being turned away and being told to “come back again another time”.

The Bundaberg Health region has been left grappling with multiple outbreaks at retail stores and hotels.

Two previous Hervey Bay cases confirmed last week, and Bundaberg Bunnings was a known exposure site last week.

Those two cases did not trigger Covid exposure warnings on the Fraser Coast because the patients travelled straight to private addresses and isolated.

If you have any Covid-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, get tested immediately. To find your closest location, visit https://qld.health/TestingFeverClinics