One new Covid-19 case on the Gold Coast as new exposure sites announced
Exposure sites have been listed in six Gold Coast suburbs as the city reveals one new case on Saturday. 35 new cases have now been recorded in northern NSW. SEE EXPOSURE SITES + LATEST
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NORTHERN NSW has recorded 35 new cases on the same day the Gold Coast recorded just one.
The Northern NSW Local Health District announced on Saturday afternoon it had reported 23 new cases in Byron, two in Lismore, eight in Ballina and two in Tweed.
30 of the 35 cases are linked to an existed cluster.
Northern NSW Local Health District chief executive Wayne Jones said: “(We are) seeing an increase in cases in the Byron Bay region, and the majority of them are associated with venues including pubs, clubs and party settings.
“The transmission in these types of settings is contributing to the increase in cases in
NSW and we reiterate how important it is for people not to attend social functions if
they have any symptoms, even if mild.
“Where possible, social gatherings should be held in outdoor environments.”
Queensland health authorities revealed on Saturday morning a man they had been investigating as a possible case on Friday has now tested positive for the virus.
It’s understood the man was a casual contact of another case at a Gold Coast Bunnings.
It follows six Gold Coast cases - of a total nine statewide - being announced on Friday, forcing a Broadbeach school into lockdown.
COVID-19 Update: The Health Minister @YvetteDAth and Employment and Small Business Minister @DiFarmerMP are speaking at Redcliffe. #covid19 https://t.co/VLcg1lq9rF
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) December 11, 2021
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said: “The good news, if you can call it back, is the genomic sequencing we’ve got back so far shows this is Delta.
“Just because it’s not Omicron, doesn’t mean it’s not serious.
“If you are unwell, don’t ignore those symptoms, come out now and find out if you have Covid, because it is possible.”
Quarantine rules for people fully vaccinated who become close contacts will change from January 1, in an effort to help small businesses which become exposure sites.
Fully vaccinated people will only need to quarantine for seven days, but will face mask requirements and will not be allowed in “high-risk settings” for the following week.
“We know there is still a risk from day 8-14, but that risk is reduced when you are fully vaccinated,” Ms D’Ath said.
“If you are unvaccinated and a household contact and you are not able to separate, you will need to do the same seven-day quarantine and follow the same requirements.”
Unvaccinated people will still need to quarantine for 14 days.
FRIDAY, DEC 10
Anyone who has visited the Gold Coast in the past eight days has been told to check exposure sites, as health authorities snipe at the Gold Coast’s low vaccination rates.
Queensland Health released a number of new exposure sites across Mermaid Waters, Miami, Currumbin Waters, Tamborine Mountain and Burleigh Heads at 7pm on Friday night.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has confirmed multiple “incursions” of Covid-19 across the Gold Coast after Broadbeach State School and Fuel Bakehouse at Currumbin were closed to stop the spread of the virus.
SEE WHERE TO GET A WALK-IN VACCINATION THIS WEEKEND
A public health alert has been issued for new contact tracing locations at Broadbeach, Mermaid Beach, Miami, Tugun, Elanora, Ashmore and Currumbin Waters.
Ms D’Ath, speaking at Wet’n’Wild at Oxenford on Friday, said six people had been infectious in the city “for a number of days” and there was nine new cases in Queensland in total, including three people in hotel quarantine.
“Today is the day we’ve been planning for. I can report that we have new community cases here on the Gold Coast, and a number of incursions,” she said.
“What I can report is we have nine cases.
“But we do have six people on the Gold Coast that have been in the community infectious for a number of days.”
She said there was “four different incursions” on the Coast and cases had been out and about across the community.
Ms D’Ath also urged Gold Coasters, or anyone visiting the city to wear masks indoors again.
“These six people make up four different incursions that we can see so far … there is another one under investigation that could see five incursions,” she said.
Ms D’Ath confirmed Broadbeach State School closure, testing and quarantining and testing the class and close contacts of the child.
She said the cases involved a vaccinated male who moved to Queensland and had been infectious in the community for five days, and a female border zone worker, her partner and her child who attend Broadbeach State School.
“We have a male who has been vaccinated with one dose recently moved into the state who has been infectious for five days in the community.
“We have a female who works in the border zone, and her partner and her child all infectious. Her child is a student at Broadbeach State School.”
Other positive cases include a male musician in a band who visited Byron Bay and returned to the Coast and a female who’s a close contact of the man who relocated to Queensland.
She urged eligible Coast residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible and warned “there’s likely to be transmission happening across the Gold Coast”.
Acting CHO Dr Peter Aitken said he was surprised there had not been more cases on the Coast, as he detailed the cases had been infectious in the community for up to eight days.
An automated message at Broadbeach State School informed the parents there was a confirmed case at the school, with all children and families asked to isolate.
“There has now been a confirmed infectious case of Covid-19 at Broadbeach State School, please keep your child and your household members isolated at home, all will need to be tested today, we’re trying to set up a testing site at the school today. More information to follow,” the message said.
Parents also received a text from the school at 7.30am on Friday, warning them there had been an infectious case confirmed at the school.
A parent told the Bulletin: “It’s a real shame for the kids that they aren’t able to farewell their class mates, especially the Grade 6s who won’t get to enjoy their last day of primary school.
“In saying that, the school has done the right thing as the health of the Gold Coast community is the priority.”
“With the borders opening on Monday, I think it’s going to be a regular occurrence to have dozens of daily cases in Queensland unfortunately.”
It comes after a popular Currumbin bakery was forced to temporarily close after two infected customers visited the venue.
Fuel Bakehouse on Currumbin Creek Rd at Currumbin took to Facebook and Instagram late on Thursday afternoon and said workers were taking “all actions required” by authorities.
Queensland Health and Gold Coast Health were contacted for comment.
The bakery stated: “CLOSED FRIDAY … Currumbin we regret to inform that we have had a positive Covid case come through our doors yesterday (Wednesday) morning.
“We have been informed a customer was in store between 7:05am and 7:25am on Wednesday.”
Later, the post was updated to include information about a second case.
“We have been informed we had another positive case from customer on Tuesday 7th between 12:10pm and 12:15pm, our customer sat outside, and no other customers were present at the time,” the post read.
The bakery said it would likely reopen on Friday “as we are testing all our staff as directed”.
“We have only been informed our staff require testing at this point, we have had no advice regarding our customers over the period of the day,” the post read.
“Thanks for all the love and support. We aim to be back open Saturday providing we have negative results from all staff.”
Meanwhile, Queensland Police are bracing for “a challenging few days” at the border as motorists grapple with the new borderpass system from 1am on Monday.
Gold Coast District Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman said police expected lengthy delays once the border opened.
“Monday and Tuesday next week will be quite challenging at the border,” he said.
“People in the border communities in particular do take a little bit of time to update their pass.
“The old `pack you patience’ is going to be a key phrase again.”
Supt Wildman said officers would not stop every car, but that every car “should expect to be stopped”.
Police would take a “risk-based approach” to selecting which vehicles were stopped, he said.
“If you can’t have the pass ready on your dash, at least have it on your phone,” Supt Wildman said.
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