Queensland’s lockdown mostly lifted as new COVID-19 case emerges on the Sunshine Coast
Lockdowns in most local government areas in Queensland have lifted, despite four new cases of local transmission being reported in the state’s southeast corner on Friday.
The snap lockdown ended as planned at 6 pm for everyone except people in Brisbane and Moreton Bay, who are set to remain locked down until at least 6 pm Saturday.
Residents on the Sunshine Coast have regained their freedom, despite news late on Friday of a fourth case emerging there – a university campus worker who was potentially infectious for two days before the lockdown began on Tuesday evening. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaking on Friday morning.” src=”https://sl.sbs.com.au/public/image/file/73419c77-8ec2-46fb-a37c-ebe58ad44fba” alt=” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaking on Friday morning.” width=”700″ height=”390″ />
The state’s chief health officer, Dr. Jeanette Young, said she was confident in lifting stay-at-home orders on the coast, given the man’s limited time in the community.
Despite this, anyone who develops the slightest symptoms in the Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Sippy Downs, or Maroochydore areas is being asked to report for testing immediately.
The man worked at the Sippy Downs campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast and was there on 28 and 29 June before the lockdown began. Dr. Young said he had minimal contact with others, and she has decided not to list the university as a contact tracing site.
“As we’ve seen time and time again, the situation is fast-moving, and we will keep the community updated as soon as possible if we need to change our approach,” she said on Friday.
While lockdowns ended for residents of the Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley, Somerset, and Townsville areas on Friday, people will need to wear a mask outside their homes for the next two weeks.
Three new local COVID-19 cases were reported earlier on Friday, including the partner of a woman who worked at the Qatar Airlines counter at Brisbane airport. The other two cases are a mother and daughter who the premier said had been “out quite extensively around Brisbane”.
On Friday morning, Ms. Palaszczuk said the state’s contact tracers needed more time to investigate the three new infections before lockdowns could be lifted in Brisbane and Moreton Bay.
“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,” she said. Dr. Young said she was confident it was safe to lift the lockdown outside Brisbane due to the low cases after tens of thousands of tests.
