Gabba grounds are being prepared for Australia-India cricket Test

The Gabba ground is being prepared for the fourth Test between Australia and India despite the Greater Brisbane coronavirus lockdown.

The fourth cricket Test between Australia and India remains on track to be held at the Gabba, despite a small cluster of the highly infectious UK COVID-19 variant in Brisbane.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had no concerns about the Gabba Test being called off “at this stage”, despite Greater Brisbane going into the third day of a three-day lockdown in a bid to prevent the UK variant taking hold in the community.

The Test is due to begin on January 15.

“Honestly, everything I am hearing is that it is very positive and my understanding is the grounds are getting prepared,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk watches her Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young provide a briefing on COVID-19. Photo: Dan Peled.

Queensland has recorded two days of zero new cases of the pandemic virus in a row, but Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young is taking a wait-and-see approach before committing to whether the lockdown will end at 6pm Monday.

“Let’s get the numbers and work out what we will be doing,” she said.

Queensland’s lockdown and mandatory mask wearing for Greater Brisbane residents once they leave home follows a casual cleaner working at the inner-city Hotel Grand Chancellor testing positive to the super-contagious UK COVID-19 variant.

A man, in his 30s, who recently returned to Queensland from Ghana, and his partner, have both tested positive to the UK variant while in hotel quarantine at the Grand Chancellor.

An investigation is underway into how the cleaner may have developed the infection through her work at the hotel.

Groundsman David Sandurski watering the grass at The Gabba in July 2020. Picture: Attila Csaszar)

Originally published as Gabba grounds are being prepared for Australia-India cricket Test