Six Covid cases detected in Queensland as new restrictions slapped on millions for TWO weeks

A possible new case of Covid community infection in Townsville has raised fears the state will enter a new lockdown.

Six new cases were announced by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday morning. 

The state now has 22 active cases. 

Stage 2 restrictions would apply in Queensland from 4pm today.  Ms Palaszczuk said the restrictions would apply to Brisbane, Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Logan and Townsville.

People allowed into a home would be limited to 30 people again. 

A man believed to be infectious in the community for the past two days was transported from the Hotel Chancellor to Townsville Hospital on Wednesday night, the Courier-Mail reported. Ms Palaszczuk said he was a pilot who had flown into the city.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is expected to provide more detail on the case this morning, as well as other new cases detected in the south-east.   

Brisbane and the Gold Coast residents are waiting to see if four separate outbreaks of COVID-19 have spread, with the state government resisting a lockdown.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is expected to provide more detail on the case this morning, as well as other new cases detected in the south-east

The NRL Grand Final set for Suncorp Stadium on Sunday evening could be thrown into disarray if the city enters a new lockdown.

Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young had earlier not ruled out imposing a lockdown even up to the morning of the game.

Five new locally acquired cases have been recorded since Monday, with 75 exposure sites listed in Brisbane and seven on the Gold Coast.

A sixth case is expected to be announced on Thursday involving a woman from Cannon Hill, in eastern Brisbane, who reportedly became infected on a visit to the northern NSW town of Kyogle, where four cases have emerged this week.

Brisbane’s 75 exposure sites include hotels, restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, and shops in Albany Creek, Aspley, the CBD, Camp Hill, Cannon Hill, Carindale, Eatons Hill, Hamilton, Rocklea, South Brisbane, Spring Hill.

Queensland Health said 19 sites are considered close contact venues.  

Two cases were recorded on the Gold Coast on Wednesday – an aviation worker from Biggera Waters who’s a colleague of a case in Brisbane and a Mermaid Waters truck driver who tested positive while working in NSW.

The seven Gold Coast exposure sites include one close contact site. 

The NRL Grand Final set for Suncorp Stadium on Sunday evening could be thrown into disarray if the city enters a new lockdown.

Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young has said a lockdown may not be necessary as authorities have been able to link all four cases to clusters in NSW or overseas.

“I’m watching this very, very carefully. At the moment, I am prepared to wait and see if we’ve got any local transmission,” she said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Queensland is pushing ahead with plans for reopening at a non-specified date, subject to modelling by the Doherty Institute.

Queensland Health says no other models have been commissioned regarding vaccination rates and restrictions.

“As Queenslanders would expect, there is planning underway internally that will use similar methodologies as the Doherty modelling, to support local decision making at a state and regional level,” a spokesperson said.

So far 64.58 per cent of eligible Queenslander’s have had their first dose of vaccination, while 45.6 per cent of the population is fully inoculated.

The government says all vaccination hubs will now accept walk-ins following the success of the state’s ‘Super Pfizer’ weekends.

Anyone aged 12 and over is now eligible for the Pfizer vaccine at all Queensland Health vaccination hubs.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk saying Queenslanders must protect themselves from the Delta variant of the virus.

“We won’t keep Delta out of our community forever. Thanks to the way we’ve responded to the pandemic, we have a great window of opportunity to vaccinate as many Queenslanders as possible,” she said.

Mask requirements in place for Brisbane and the Moreton Bay local government areas have been extended to the Gold Coast and there are restrictions on accessing hospitals, aged care, disability facilities and jails.

There are currently 18 active cases in the state.

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