Qld records 10 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases as Delta outbreak grows

The state is eagerly awaiting news as to whether lockdown will end on Sunday after 10 new local Covid-19 cases were recorded on Friday.

Queensland recorded 10 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 on Friday as authorities warn they will not make any decisions on whether lockdown will be extended until Sunday.

The new cases have been linked to the Indooroopilly cluster, which has resulted in the infection of dozens of children from three Brisbane high schools and a primary school.

Five of Thursday’s cases are household contacts of Ironside State School cases, three are household contacts of Indooroopilly State High School students, and two are household contacts of Brisbane Boys Grammar School cases.

Only two of the new cases were infectious in the community for one day during the lockdown.

The 11 local government areas of South East Queensland are in their sixth day of strict lockdown, which the chief health officer hopes she can ease as planned at 4pm on Sunday.

But a decision on what will happen from Sunday night will not be made until Sunday morning, Dr Jeanette Young has confirmed, because she will need “every single one of those days” to be able to work through what happens next.

Brisbane residents have been urged to get tested to help authorities decide whether lockdown can be lifted on Sunday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Dr Young said Friday’s case numbers were “very encouraging”.

“It is all very reassuring but we have got to keep it up for the next few days, we are not there yet,” she said.

“Please continue to come forward and get tested with any symptoms at all.

“That is critical. And please, keep wearing masks. They have made an enormous difference.”

A decision on whether Brisbane’s lockdown will be extended beyond Sunday afternoon will not be made until Sunday morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Dr Young said she hoped the lockdown would be lifted on Sunday but said it was still too early to make that decision.

“Going forward, we are going to have to be incredibly cautions,” she said.

“We’ve seen what’s happened in other states. We know that the Delta variant is a completely different variant to the ones we were dealing with last year.

“We can’t use the same strategies we used last year. We really have got to ramp them up.”

Masks could be mandatory in South East Queensland until Christmas. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The strategies Dr Young is considering include mandating mask wearing until at least Christmas.

“Masks are just so critical with this Delta variant, and it is an issue that if we want to try and avoid lockdowns, we are going to have to get used to wearing masks,” she said.

“Hopefully, it won’t be through til Christmas but it could be.”

Dr Young said piloting a trial of children younger than 12 wearing special masks while at school was also being considered.

“Education (Queensland) has already done a fantastic piece of work and they’ve found and sourced masks that are smaller and will fit smaller heads. We’re looking at some pilot work with maybe the older children in primary school,” she said.

“We are just working that through, but there are very few places in the world that gets children under 12 to wear masks … we will see if it is beneficial and if we can do it.”

Originally published as Qld records 10 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases as Delta outbreak grows