Covid Qld: Premier delivers crucial update after case detected in Goondiwindi

The NSW town of Moree has been declared a restricted border zone after Queensland recorded three new local Covid-19 cases overnight.

The Queensland Government has declared Moree a restricted border zone area from 12.01am on Friday, November 5, following an outbreak of COVID-19.

The Premier tweeted that residents in Moree will no longer have access across the Queensland border, except in exceptional circumstances including essential healthcare.

“It follows an outbreak that has so far spread to 33 cases in New South Wales. This is in addition to three cases that were reported in Queensland today,” she wrote.

It comes after Queensland recorded three new Covid-19 cases – all in Goondiwindi – and after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk issued a stark warning to unvaccinated Queenslanders that they face the risk of getting “very very sick”.

One case is a contact of a known cluster, the second case has been in the community for five days and the third case is a woman in her 30s who’s been in the community for four days.

The first two cases were detected in unvaccinated females – one in her teens, one in her 20s – prompting the Premier’s repeated message for Queenslanders to get vaccinated to protect themselves and other members of the community.

Anyone in Goondiwindi has been urged to keep checking the exposure sites published by Queensland Health, but the community has been reassured that a lockdown will be avoided because of its high vaccination rate.

“The good news here, which is a relief, which means we don’t have to lock Goondiwindi down, is because of the high vaccination rates,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“It’s a message to Queenslanders right across the state, your community needs to get vaccinated.”

Speaking in Logan where vaccine rates are still lagging, Ms Palaszczuk said people needed to get vaccinated.

Annastacia Palaszczuk’s message is clear: Get vaccinated now. Photo Steve Pohlner

“This virus will hunt you out and if you’re unvaccinated you can get very, very sick,” she said.

She said everywhere in the southeast except Ipswich, Logan, Beaudesert and the Gold Coast had almost hit 80 per cent.

“It is really important to keep coming out to get vaccinated,” she said.

Acting chief health officer Peter Aitken said two of the new cases weren’t vaccinated.

“The virus has found them,” he said.

Ms Palaszczuk warned that the borders could open sooner than the dates set, making it critical people did not delay getting vaccinated.

“Today is a wake up call for every Queenslander and every community, you can have a very high vaccination rate and this virus will hunt you down.”

She urged Indigenous communities to disregard “misinformation on Facebook’’.

“There is a lot of misinformation that is being spread to our Indigenous communities. It is factually incorrect and it’s wrong,” she said.

Goondiwindi Hospital, where Thursday’s case was discovered.

There are now 12 active cases in Queensland.

Ms Palaszczuk said the good news, at least, was that Goodniwindi had one of the highest vaccination rates in the state with 83.5 per cent of the community fully vaccinated.

She said Ipswich, Logan and Beaudesert and the Gold Coast are the only areas in southeast Queensland that aren’t as close to the 80 per cent vaccinated mark.

Deputy police commissioner Steve Gollschewski said there was high confidence around Goondiwindi because of the high vaccination rates.

He said he was more concerned over areas like Gold Coast which were behind in vaccination rates and had a higher flow of people coming through.

The Premier said when the border opens, positive cases will be treated both in hospitals and in the communities depending on the circumstances.

Asked about the concern the nurses union had over the Princess Alexandra Hospital’s ability to handle additional Covid cases when borders open, Ms Palaszczuk said authorities were preparing but individuals need to take responsibility and get vaccinated too.

“There’s been a lot of preparation happening across the state... There will be a surge of Covid cases in Queensland. That’s why we have this window of opportunity, it’s a very brief moment in time to get people vaccinated.”

There were 5098 tests and 10709 vaccines in the past 24 hours with 65.26 per cent of Queenslanders now fully vaccinated.

It comes as an anti-vaxxer gatecrashed a press conference being held by Health Minister Yvette D’Ath in Cairns.

When asked about the Caboolture Hospital review, the Premier said her understanding was that all the complaints were taken into account.

“It’s an independent report, so the government doesn’t dictate what goes into that report,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said she hasn’t read the Caboolture Hospital report yet but has read through the 19 recommendations.

“I expect all of our health workforce to make sure they deal with individual patients with the utmost respect,” she said.

Originally published as Covid Qld: Premier delivers crucial update after case detected in Goondiwindi