COVID QLD: Brisbane lockdown begins as UK mutant virus on loose

As Greater Brisbane’s lockdown begins, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has left the door open to extend it past Monday as health officials continue assess incoming COVID-19 test results.

The Minister told 4BC radio this afternoon that there were “a lot of hypotheticals”, when asked about what could be said on Monday – when the lockdown is scheduled to end.

“The best case scenario is we get to 6pm on Monday and we’ve had no additional community cases and we would love for that to be the result,” Ms D’Ath said.

“And it means we can start moving out of restrictions much quicker.

“But of course worst case scenario is we’re seeing more community transmission and looking at everything that could be in between.

“Because it’s not just about the numbers of cases. It’s also about whether we can trace everyone of those – whether there’s seeding happening which means whoever’s got it is passing it on to other people in broader areas.”

Ms D’Ath said they were taking it “one hour at a time” as they assessed test results that were being returned.

“There’s a lot of different things can happen,” she said.

“We will reassess on an ongoing basis over the next 24, 48 and 72 hours.”

On Friday morning, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced Greater Brisbane, which includes the council areas of Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands, will go into lockdown from 6pm Friday to 6pm Monday.

Residents must stay at home except for four key reasons – to leave for essential work, health care, shopping and exercise in your local area.

Anyone who has visited Brisbane since January 2 and has now moved on to other parts of the state or country will also be required to quarantine for the next three days.

Two visitors will be permitted to visit homes during this period but non-essential businesses will be forced to shutdown.

There will be a limit of 20 people at funerals and 10 at weddings over the next three days.

People are being urged not to visit gyms or attend local community sporting events.

Community sport has also been placed on hold in Greater Brisbane for the next three days.

Masks will also be mandatory for anyone in greater Brisbane leaving their home, those who fail to do so will face $200 fines.

A child under 12 does not need to wear a mask.

The lockdown comes as COVID-19 viral fragments have been detected at four more sites in Queensland.

Dr Young said fragments of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had been found at wastewater treatment plants at South Brisbane, Townsville, Hervey Bay and Maryborough this week.

“This does not mean we have new cases of COVID-19 in these communities, but we are treating these detections with absolute caution,” she said.

“A positive sewage result means that someone who has been infected was shedding the virus.

“Infected people can shed viral fragments and that shedding can happen for several weeks after the person is no longer infectious.”

Symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting and loss of taste or smell.

“Given the recent case of community transmission in Brisbane and the regular detection of cases in other states, I am urging anyone who feels unwell in these communities to get tested and isolate,” Dr Young said.

“If there is a case we are not yet aware of, it is critical we detect it through our testing mechanisms as quickly as possible to contain any potential spread.”

For details about testing sites, visit health.qld.gov.au.

The news of Brisbane’s lockdown sent the city into a panic buying meltdown with supermarkets flooded with shoppers despite pleas from authorities not to panic buy, saying all shops were fully stocked.

Nine new coronavirus cases were detected overnight, all in hotel quarantine.

Most other Australian states have now moved to declare Greater Brisbane a hotspot and shut their borders.

Ms Palaszczuk acknowledged it was going to be “tough” on everybody during those three days, including on local businesses.

“If you are in those areas and if you have planned a vacation for this weekend, I’m sorry but you will not be able to go,” the Premier said.

“You are allowed two visitors to your home if that is required.”

She said she was ‘going hard and going early’ to stop the spread of this ‘incredibly contagious virus’.

“It is going to be tough on everyone for these three days. What we are seeing in the UK at the moment and other places around the world is high rates of infection from this particular strain,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“There are no second chances with this pandemic.

“Three days is better than 30.

“If we are going to stop the spread of this infectious strain, this UK strain, we must act immediately, we must act strongly.”

“We are doing this to make sure we’re keeping Queenslanders safe,” said Ms Palaszczuk.

“We will do a very strong three-day lockdown.

“You will be allowed to go outside for … to go to essential work … you can leave home if you are providing healthcare or support for a vulnerable person … essential shopping or to exercise in you local neighbourhood.”

She pleaded with employers to be sympathetic with their workers during the three-day lockdown.

“This is unprecedented,” she said.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the UK strain was 70 per cent more infectious and “we know the extreme difficulty the UK has had in controlling that strain”.

“We need to find every single case now,” Dr Young said.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said police would be stepping up enforcement and undertaking random interceptions to ensure the directions were being followed.

She warned of $1300 fines for those who break the rules.

Dr Young said the woman had not gone to any cafes or restaurants during the period she was infectious and said the restrictions were being put in place to locate the woman’s close contacts.

A total of 79 close contacts of the infected cleaner had been identified so far.

Dr Young said until contract tracers were able to find every contact of the cleaner who had tested positive on Wednesday, Queenslanders could not afford to relax.

She urged people living in the Greater Brisbane region to avoid visiting the elderly, unless they were providing essential care.

“If you normally would provide care to a vulnerable person, think through what the risks are,” she said.

The Sunshine and Gold Coasts have not been included in the lockdown because the cleaner had not ventured outside the Greater Brisbane region.

“If things were to spread, then of course we’d have to look at the broader lockdown,” Dr Young said.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said it was better to do the lockdown now over three days instead of over a period of weeks.

She said any delay could see catastrophic results as she pointed to the ongoing cases in the UK.

Ms D’Ath said the UK variant was spreading throughout the world and 38 per cent of all positive cases in the UK have been in the last month, meaning the strain is incredible contagious.

“If we waited until Monday afternoon in three days’ time we don’t want to be standing here saying ‘if only’,” she said.

“We cannot risk people’s lives and the economy.”

Ms D’Ath said police would be out in the community to ensure people abided by the mandatory mask direction in the Greater Brisbane region from 6pm tonight until 6am on Monday.

Police Commissioner Katrina Carroll said police would be making sure everyone was complying with the directives.

“If there is blatant disregard of the directives, we will be ensuring compliance,” she said.

Businesses have sensationally backed the government’s tough approach, hoping the three-day lockdown will prevent economic carnage.

Restaurants and cafes will again be forced to provide takeaway only while cinemas, entertainment and recreation venues such as gyms will close.

CCIQ Advocacy and Policy General Manager Amanda Rohan said the three-day lockdown would hurt some businesses, but said it wouldn’t compare to the huge damage if Queensland suffered a second wave.

PANIC BUYING EXPLODES AS LOCKDOWN LOOMS

“For businesses in the Greater Brisbane region, the next three days will be trying,” she said.

“However, CCIQ recognises the importance of controlling the further spread of COVID-19 to prevent further longer-lasting lockdown implications.”

The state’s peak economic group also welcomed the local government area restrictions instead of a Queensland-wide lockdown.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the Brisbane COVID outbreak is a “serious situation” and the lockdown is a “wise decision”.

“(The UK COVID strain) moves so quickly – far more quickly than previous strains of the virus – and that means we need to give our contact tracers that head start to ensure that they can track down and run down all of the contacts from this individual and ensure that they can be identified, isolated and that people in the appropriate places can get the testing,” he said.

He said Brisbane was dealing with a “different situation” than previous outbreaks with “many “unknowns and uncertainties”:

“That’s why this precautionary approach, we believe, is very sensible,” he said.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said if the UK strain established itself in the community it would be “much harder to contain”.

“This is the very first time we’ve seen someone with this strain in the community in Australia,” Prof Kelly said.

“We’ve had some cases in hotel quarantine in the past weeks, but they’ve been controlled through that process.

“So it is a change. We have, therefore, moved to calling this a Commonwealth hotspot, as Queensland has done, and we’ll come in right behind with all of the Commonwealth supports in relation to that.”

The cleaner, who lives in Algester did a shift last Saturday at the inner-city Hotel Grand Chancellor, where four recent coronavirus cases have been detected in quarantine.

Health alerts were issued yesterday for Algester and the nearby suburbs of Sunnybank, Sunnybank Hills and Calamvale as authorities scramble to track down close contacts.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young announced visitor bans will be imposed on hospitals, aged care facilities and disability accommodation centres in the wake of the positive test.

Queenslanders were already responding to calls for increased testing, with more than 13,000 recorded in the past 24 hours.

Extra testing clinics have been set up with extended hours to cope with the expected surge in people seeking tests for the pandemic virus.

Dr Young said the evidence coming out of the UK was that the variant did not cause more disease and was not more deadly.

“The issue is that more people will get it. We’ve seen that in the UK,” she said.

“It’s causing problems for their health system.

“We can’t put it back into the box. Hopefully it won’t spread. But it’s too late if it’s spread and then to try and overcome that.”

Dr Young said the start of COVID vaccinations in Australia was more than a month away.

“We have to get this under control now,” she said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison backed the decision, tweeting that it was a “wise call” to have a “brief lockdown to enable Queensland health authorities to get on top of the UK strain case in Brisbane”.

“A big thanks in advance to everyone in greater Brisbane for their patience in coming days,” he said.

“This will buy much needed time.”

Australian Medical Association Queensland President Professor Chris Perry said doctors welcome the three day lockdown and urged everyone in relevant areas to stay home.

“Little is known about the peculiar characteristics of the new COVID strain from the UK and, until we understand how best to protect frontline health workers and the community, we must take an abundance of caution,” he said.

“To stop the virus spreading, we need people to get tested and stop moving around.”

Prof. Perry urged those who do need to leave their homes to wear masks.

“As we have learnt from interstate experiences, a short, quick response is better than the weeks of lockdown they are now enduring in the UK.”

“If you urgently need to see your doctor, please limit the number of people attending the appointment, wash your hands with soap and wear a mask.”