Large gatherings banned for next month, no easing of border restrictions
Queensland faces another month of tough COVID-19 restrictions while the state’s borders will remained locked down under a national hot spot system, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed. VOTE IN OUR POLL
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House parties and large family get-togethers will be off the cards for at least the next month and there will be no relaxation to border restrictions under a national “hot spot” system.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had doubled down over the escalating border wars, declaring she won’t budge of Queensland’s restrictions no matter what the federal government says.
Ms Palaszczuk said she had seen no detail and no evidence of how a hotspot system proposed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison would work.
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“Queenslanders will continue to have our borders closed to keep Queenslanders safe,” she said.
“I’m not going to be moved on this.
“The Federal Government can throw whoever they want at that.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he did not dispute the Premiers’ powers on border controls, but there needed to be a focus on the “road back” to normal life.
“The road back for our economy to ensure that we can see the jobs continue to come back to our economy, whether it is in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania or anywhere else,” he said.
“We cannot retreat, we must always go forward when it comes to battling this virus.”
It is understood the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee is continuing discussions on a national COVID hotspot definition and a definition will go ahead with or without the states’ agreement.
Queensland recorded just one more case on Monday – someone already connected to the prison cluster – to bring total active cases to 27.
But Deputy Premier Steven Miles said it would take some time before tougher restrictions limiting 10 visitors to homes across Brisbane, Logan, Toowoomba, Ipswich and the Gold Coast could be relaxed.
“That’s the kind of the thing we would normally review after one to two incubation periods (of two weeks) of no known infectious person in the community so that’s still a number of weeks away,” he said.
Queensland Health last night expanded its list of venues where COVID-19 cases had visited to include Madhouse Discount Variety in Waterford Plaza on August 26 and the Hyperdome Shopping Centre in Loganholme the same day as well as Pizza Hut in Beenleigh and TSG Tabacconist in Eagleby on August 27.
The tough stance came even as the government acknowledged there had been some problems with the granting of medical exemptions to people from NSW to come to Brisbane for emergency or urgent care and announced a new unit to help doctors and patients transfer across state lines would be running by the week’s end.
It followed a Tweed Heads boy missing a potentially life-saving check-up at the Prince Charles Hospital following a recent double lung transplant and the case of a Ballina woman who lost a twin baby after being transferred to Sydney instead of Brisbane.
| PLACE | ARRIVAL TIME | DEPARTURE TIME |
| Madhouse Discount Variety, Waterford Plaza | 1.50pm | 2.15pm |
| Hyperdome Shopping Centre | 3.15pm | 5.45pm |
| Best & Less, Hyperdome Shoppng Centre | 3.15pm | 4.05pm |
| K-Mart, Hyprdome Shopping Centre | 4.05pm | 4.30pm |
| The Reject Shop, Hyperdome Shopping Centre | 4.35pm | 4.55pm |
| Footlocker, Hyperdome Shopping Centre | 5.00pm | 5.30pm |
| Madhouse Discount Variety, Waterford Plaza | 1.50pm | 2.50pm |
| Hyperdome Shopping Centre | 3.15pm | 5.45pm |
| Best & Less, Hyperdome Shoppng Centre | 3.15pm | 4.05pm |
| K-Mart, Hyprdome Shopping Centre | 4.05pm | 4.30pm |
| The Reject Shop, Hyperdome Shopping Centre | 4.35pm | 4.55pm |
| Footlocker, Hyperdome Shopping Centre | 5.00pm | 5.30pm |
| Platypus Shoes, Hyperdome Shopping Centre | 5.00pm | 5.30pm |
| Pizza Hut | 4.30pm | 4.35pm |
| TSG Tobacconist | 4.50pm | 5.00pm |
Cases would be co-ordinated by clinicians and then prioritised to the Chief Health Officer, who grants exemptions.
Mr Miles said most medical exemptions had been granted but acknowledged there had been a “small proportion” of problematic cases and that was “too many”.
“We’ve said we want to do better,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Miles wouldn’t be drawn on what rules might be further tightened in the case of “sustained community transmission”.
He said the government would tighten restrictions if there was “sustained community transmission”, but did not nominate what rules would be introduced.
Experts say restrictions will depend on the context of the cases, particularly if unknown community transmission increases.
Griffith University Institute for Glycomics Professor Johnson Mak said in the event of unknown community transmission numbers increasing, it will be a strong case to argue for restrictions.
“On the other hand, if identified new cases are both ‘traceable’ and ‘from individuals with limited contacts’, further restriction is not useful,” he said.
“Having a flexible testing capacity to increase testing and having the public involved in the
process (not underestimating the virus) will be the key.”
Griffith University Infectious Diseases and Immunology Professor Nigel McMillan said the number of unexplained cases will be the most critical as it indicated the level of community transmission.
“We don’t want to see too many more of these types of cases or the government will need to act,” he said.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland manager Amanda Rohan said businesses could not afford another lockdown.
“There are no reserves left,” she said.
“But what is also damaging is the current uncertainty they are operating in and not knowing what any potential restrictions would look like, or when they may come into effect.
“The Palaszczuk Government need to outline the framework they are using to make decisions and give insight to what could happen next.”
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland manager Amanda Rohan said businesses could not afford another lockdown.
“There are no reserves left,” she said.
“But what is also damaging is the current uncertainty they are operating in and not knowing what any potential restrictions would look like, or when they may come into effect.
“The Palaszczuk Government need to outline the framework they are using to make decisions and give insight to what could happen next.”
Ms Rohan said businesses “deserve to know the “parameters for decision making” that could be the difference between remaining open or forced to close.
“The government are telling us they have been planning for different scenarios, but they are not allowing businesses to do the same,” she said.
“We need to see the health plan and the details for the economic recovery plan of the Palaszczuk Government.”
