Lockdown ends in Brisbane and Moreton Bay

Lockdown has ended in Greater Brisbane and the Moreton Bay region despite Queensland recording five local cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours from more than 25,000 tests.

“I thank everyone for doing that extra day that we asked people to do – that gave our contact tracers that extra time that was desperately needed,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“So, the lockdown will end at 6.00pm tonight. But we are not out of the woods yet.”

Despite lockdown ending, south-east Queensland, Townsville and Palm Island local government areas will still have to wear masks when outside and in most public places where you can’t socially distance. 

Additionally, up to 30 people are allowed in homes and public spaces. Up to 100 are allowed at weddings and funerals. 

Indoor and outdoor seated events will also be able to accommodate 100 percent capacity, including tomorrow’s Brisbane Broncos game and Wednesday’s Wallabies games at Suncorp Stadium. 

One of the new community transmissions is a known contact from the Portuguese restaurant cluster and was detected on Day 12 while in hotel quarantine.

He is considered “no risk” by health authorities, with the incubation period for the Alpha variant being up to 14 days.

The second person is a man in his 50s who lives at Aroona and works at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, he is the case that was reported last night.

The man’s genome sequencing has shown a link to the Portuguese restaurant cluster, with Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young saying the man has had contact with someone from the cluster.

“His immediate close contacts, at this stage, have all tested negative, but remember there’s 14 days’ incubation to go,” Dr Young said.

The third case is a 29-year-old Brisbane man who travelled to Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast and is related to the woman who is linked to the Carindale Greek Community Centre.

Early advice has indicated that the man has been to Eumundi, Sunshine Beach, Kenilworth and Doonan in the Sunshine Coast region.

“We’re still talking to him and interviewing him to find out where he’s been,” Dr Young said.

“Anyone in that part of the Sunshine Coast, any symptoms at all, immediately get tested.”

The fourth person is a woman in her 50s who lives at Everton Park in Brisbane’s north who worked at the Prince Charles Hospital.

It’s understood she worked one shift at the hospital but not in a COVID ward and had her first dose of AstraZeneca.

“We … are confirming whether she’s had a reason to go into that ward for any reason,” Dr Young said.

“She did work one shift while infectious at the Prince Charles Hospital so, we’ll have to contact trace there.”

The fifth person is another man in his 50s from Carindale in Brisbane’s south, who works as a baggage handler at Brisbane Airport.

Dr Young revealed the man positive result was discovered after Queensland Health tested over 700 workers across Brisbane’s International and Domestic Airport yesterday.

“We’re just urgently, getting his genome sequencing result to work out where he’s acquired that,” Dr Young said.

Ms Palaszczuk has asked Queenslanders who have not been vaccinated to limit their movements outside over the next 13 days until the state’s mask mandate ends. She also asked for those unvaccinated to avoid contact with people aged over 70.

“Please limit and think about whether or not you need to go to a shopping centre, whether friends or family can drop some food over to you,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young has revealed Queensland Health tested over 700 workers across Brisbane’s International and Domestic Airport, which picked up one of today’s new cases.

Just when the doors were about to be opened, three new coronavirus cases were announced on Friday morning, which meant Brisbane and Moreton Bay would stay shutdown for at least another 24 hours.

Every other local government area had their lockdown lift at 6pm, including the Sunshine Coast despite a fourth new case announced on Friday afternoon of a man in his 50s from Aroona.

“We really need, our contact tracers … to really get on top of this issue quickly,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Friday.

Two of the new cases were a mother and daughter from Carindale who had “been out quite extensively around Brisbane”, Ms Palaszcauk said.

It wasn’t immediately known how they were linked to existing clusters.

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young praised huge testing rates in Townsville that helped it avoid a worrying outbreak from the Prince Charles receptionist who travelled there with her family while she was infectious.

“The amount of testing that has been done up there has been absolutely fantastic,” Dr Young said.

Contact tracing will be crucial in deciding if the Brisbane and Moreton Bay lockdowns can be lifted or if the strictest restrictions drag on into Sunday or next week.

Sunshine Coast on high alert

The man who tested positive on Friday afternoon works at the Sippy Downs campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast and was at work on June 28 and 29.

Anyone in the Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Sippy Downs or Maroochydore areas is urged to come forward for testing even if they have only the slightest symptoms.

Dr Young said she was confident in the Sunshine Coast lifting out of lockdown.

“The man was only in the community while potentially infectious for two days before the lockdown began, at his workplace, and briefly during lockdown,” she said.

“Because of this, I am confident we can continue with the eased lockdown for the Sunshine Coast this afternoon, and we’ll continue to monitor the situation.

“Contact tracing is already underway and we are contacting everyone that we can identify.”

Coles at Sippy Downs has now been classed as a low risk venue.