Coronavirus QLD: Premier give details of state’s latest COVID-19 case total

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed there has been one new case in the state overnight, and it’s been traced to a woman from the Far North who was a passenger on the notorious Ruby Princess cruise ship.

QUEENSLAND Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed there has been one new case of coronavirus recorded in QLD overnight.

The case is confirmed as a Cairns woman who was a passenger of the Ruby Princess and is being “monitoring closely”.

Ms Palaszczuk said authorities were still trying to work out whether her case stemmed from the cruise ship or whether she contracted it in Cairns.

“At the moment we are thinking it was from the Ruby Princess,” the Premier said.

The state’s total is at 1057, with 12 active cases.

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It comes as the Premier travels to the Gold Coast this week in a bid to kickstart the region’s economy.

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Ms Palaszczuk will meet with council, theme park operators and other key stakeholders as the state continues to flatten the coronavirus curve.

Queensland currently has just 12 active cases, following almost 175,000 tests. But Ms Palaszczuk is continuing to stand firm on her decision to keep the state’s border closed.

“We are not alone and I have made it very clear that we will review these issues at the end of each month, but my fundamental issue here is I will not put Queenslanders at risk,” she said on Monday.

At her press conference today she reaffirmed her stance saying NSW and Victoria had ‘active community transmission’ and she would not entertain reopening the border ‘until they get their cases under control’.

“I want to see Queenslanders get back to work as quickly as possible, so my priority is to get Queensland working ahead of other states,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk will also meet with members of the hospitality sector this week to discuss a further easing of restrictions in restaurants and cafes.

“If the COVID-safe plans are in place, they will be allowed to have more (people) in,” she said, adding that numbers would depend on the size of the venue.

“At the end of this month we’ll be able to make that decision, but it’s very positive.”

Ms Palaszczuk said peak industry bodies, such as the Australian Hotels Association and the Restaurant and Catering Association, had been submitting proposals on behalf of their members.

“As long as everyone follows those plans, I think it’s going to be very positively received by the government,” she said.

Originally published as Coronavirus QLD: Premier give details of state’s latest COVID-19 case total