Coronavirus Qld: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Chief Medical Officer Jeannette Young provide update on COVID-19 crisis
Police are trying to force one of three “deceptive and deceitful” young women who allegedly travelled back to Queensland from coronavirus-stricken Melbourne to reveal where she’s been.
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POLICE are trying to force one of three “deceptive and deceitful” young women who allegedly travelled back to Queensland from coronavirus-stricken Melbourne to reveal where she’s been.
Olivia Winnie Muranga and her travel companion Diana Lasu, both 19, have tested positive to COVID-19 after allegedly returning from partying in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, a third woman, linked to the duo, is being investigated by Queensland Police after allegedly returning to the state from Victoria and failing to declare where she had been.
The third woman has not tested positive and remains in isolation, while a sister of one of the three alleged Melbourne travellers has tested positive.
Three more new cases, unrelated to yesterday’s shock cases, were also confirmed today – a couple who chose to self-isolate after eating at The Apollo restaurant in Sydney and a man aged in his 20s who flew back from the United States.
It comes as the Queensland Government prepares to shut Sydneysiders out of the state from Saturday at 1am under tougher border restrictions.
Chief Medical Officer Jeannette Young said: “This is an increasingly risky time for Queensland.
“The last two days we’ve had six new cases. It’s been a long time in Queensland since we’ve had those sort of numbers.”
Dr Young said one of the two women who allegedly partied in Melbourne “has not wanted us to know where she’s been”.
She urged Queenslanders to get tested for coronavirus if they believe they have any symptoms and to self-isolate while waiting for results.
Dr Young also pushed for the public to download the Federal Government’s COVIDSafe app, to continue social distancing and good hand hygiene and to keep well clear of any hot spots.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queenslanders should avoid any public locations where social distancing was not being practised.
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“If you go to a shopping centre and you see people not social distancing you should leave,” she said.
She reiterated she was “angry” about the new cases which emerged Wednesday.
“What they have done is put the health, wellbeing and lives of Queenslanders at risk,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said almost 7000 tests had been conducted in the Brisbane metro south area and she commended Queensland Health and police “for the rapid response they’ve been deploying”.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles confirmed Victoria would have a “record number of cases to report today”.
“Now is not the time to travel. Any travel that can be avoided should be avoided,” he said.
He said widespread testing would “ensure we don’t have community transmission”.
Mr Miles and Ms Palaszczuk both reiterated the importance of shutting the border to 5.3 million Sydneysiders.
The latest from the government comes as Victoria is recorded a new coronavirus tally of 723 cases and 13 deaths.
Two more schools in Sydney have also been shut amid concerns of COVID-19 outbreaks as the health crisis worsens in New South Wales.
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said she was “bitterly disappointed we’re at this stage”.
She alleged the two women who partied in Melbourne “went to extraordinary lengths to be deceptive and deceitful”.
Ms Carroll said police had issued 1100 infringement notices and that 14 people had made false declarations.
Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the border controls were effective, but “what we’ve seen in this instance are deliberate acts of deception”.
“They way our border operates cannot prevent that,” he said.
He said police were “working with those young women to identify everywhere they’ve been since they’ve been back in Queensland”.
“As you’ve heard, one has been helpful, one has not been helpful,” he said.
Mr Gollschewski expected charges would be “formalised” today.
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