Queensland records four new local cases on last day of lockdown

Queensland has recorded another new locally acquired case on Friday as the state’s lockdown was extended for the most at-risk areas.

Queensland has recorded another new locally acquired Covid-19 case, after three were announced earlier on Friday.

The new case comes after the state extended a lockdown on millions of residents in a bid to stamp out the current persistent outbreak.

Brisbane City and Moreton region will remain under stay-at-home directives beyond 6pm Friday, but the lockdown in other local government areas will be lifted.

Authorities said the new case, announced on Friday evening, was a man in his 50s who had been out in the community on the Sunshine Coast.

The man works at the Sippy Downs campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast and worked on June 28 and 29, but authorities said he had minimal contact with other people during his infectious period.

The man became symptomatic on Wednesday and was tested the following day, with authorities now investigating how he caught the virus.

“The man was only in the community while potentially infectious for two days before the lockdown began — at his workplace and briefly during lockdown,” chief health officer Jeannette Young said.

Members of the public lined up for Covid testing at the Mater Covid Testing Clinic in Brisbane on Friday, as the state dealt with a surge in cases. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Despite the concern, the lockdown for the Sunshine Coast region will ease from 6pm on Friday.

Chief health officer Jeannette Young bluntly urged residents “don’t leave Brisbane” on Friday morning after announcing the other three new local cases.

One of the new cases is the partner of the Qatar Airway check-in counter staff member reported on Thursday, but health authorities were concerned by two other cases who were not linked to one of the many known clusters plaguing the state.

The pair are a mother and daughter who live in Carindale but were active in busy areas, including West End and the city while infectious.

Large parts of Queensland are still considered at virus risk. Picture: Supplied

“At this stage I don’t have any information on how they’re linked to any other cases,” she told reporters on Friday.

“So we will work that through today. They are a mother and daughter who live in a household so we are checking the other people in that household to see if they are positive of course and we have started contact tracing.

“Please don't leave Brisbane or the Moreton Bay to go anywhere else. I don’t want to spread this virus beyond where it currently is.”

The state was delicately poised given it is in the grips of five clusters — a woman who works at a check-in counter at the Brisbane Airport, the Portuguese restaurant, Virgin Australia flight attendant, the mine cluster from the Northern Territory, and the 19-year-old receptionist infected by a returned traveller quarantining at the Prince Charles Hospital.

It is now dealing with yet another cluster as Ms Palaszczuk demanded those local government areas no longer in lockdown to carry a mask at all times for the next two weeks.

Venue capacity will be limited to one person per 4sq m and with homeowners only able to have 30 people in their house at any one time, including residents and children.

Health authorities asked the Premier for 24 more hours of lockdown. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Wedding and funerals will be capped at 100 and dancing limited to 20 people at any one time.

The areas where these restrictions apply to include Gold Coast, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Noosa, Redlands, Scenic Rim, Somerset, Sunshine Coast, Townsville (including Magnetic Island) and Palm Island Aboriginal Shire.

The Premier said the extra day was needed to allow health authorities time to trace the unknown source of the latest infection.

“We need another 24 hours,” she told reporters.

“We will come back early tomorrow morning once our contact tracers get on top of this and we will look at the case numbers overnight.”

One of the current Covid-19 infections was seriously ill and needed to be transported to the intensive care unit, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath revealed.

This case is a man aged 69 who was linked to the Portuguese cluster.

“Thankfully this person … is not on a ventilator at this point but is in ICU,” she said.

“I want our thoughts go out to him and his family right now at this time.”