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Australia Covid live update: Queensland records nine new cases on first full day of lockdown; four new cases in Victoria | |
(32 minutes later) | |
Queensland reports nine new cases of Covid-19 as three million people across the state begin their first full day in lockdown; Victoria records four new local cases. Follow all the day’s news | |
One possible link from the overseas cases to the 17-year-old Indooroopilly State High School is a medical student who tutored them. | |
Young says she is not sure that the medical student is the index case for this outbreak, but it is being investigated. The medical student had an appointment to be vaccinated but had not received the shot yet. Medical students being part of the 1B cohort, meaning they have been eligible since April. | |
The Ekka, the Royal Brisbane Show, is due to run from 7 to 15 August. It’s not yet clear whether that will go ahead. | |
The organisers have delayed setting up in response to the lockdown. Young says the show organisers are working very closely with her public health team. | |
Young says that people must wear a mask when outdoors, even when exercising, unless they are doing ‘strenuous exercise’. | |
Young says she thinks the virus has spread in schools during this outbreak because masks are not worn in schools. | |
Young said the threshold for lifting the lockdown will be when she is “confident that all the cases that potentially have been exposed are safely in quarantine and are unlikely to end up having been infectious out in the community”. | |
Young says Queensland should aim for 40,000 tests per day. That would be a record number of tests for that state. | |
The Indooroopilly outbreak has been linked to the strain carried by two people who arrived from overseas, but Young says she does not know how the virus went from the quarantine system to the 17-year-old high school student. | |
The Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath warns that the delta strain “spreads in hours not days”. | |
She has highlighted how deadly the virus has proved in Sydney. | |
D’Ath says she will be writing to the clerk of the Queensland legislative assembly to push back the estimate hearings, in order to comply with the lockdown rules. | |
Young said there had been some confusion about the difference between being in lockdown and being in quarantine. | |
The lockdown rules require you to stay at home unless you have one of the five authorised reasons to leave — exercise, essential shopping, essential work that can’t be done from home, medical and carers needs, and getting tested or vaccinated. | |
But if you’re in quarantine, because you were at an exposure site or are a close contact, you cannot leave home for any reason. If you need groceries, you can’t go out and shop — you need to call Queensland health for assistance. | |
Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeanette Young has urged everyone on the Sunshine Coast to get tested if they have any symptoms or have been at an exposure site, “because I suspect that is where this outbreak started”. | |
Miles says there are now five schools which are considered exposure sites. | |
They are Indooroopilly state high school, Ironside state school, St Peters, Brisbane Grammar School and Brisbane Girls Grammar School. That includes people who attended an open day at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. | |
Miles also ads that people in the 11 LGAs under the lockdown will be eligible to apply for the Commonwealth’s Covid disaster payment if they lose more than 20 hours work in a week due to the lockdown. | |
That brings the number of cases in the Indooroopilly cluster to 18. This cluster is the delta strain. | That brings the number of cases in the Indooroopilly cluster to 18. This cluster is the delta strain. |
Miles says four of the new cases are linked to a karate school attended by one of the cases reported yesterday. The karate school is at Ironside State School, but attended by kids from other schools. | Miles says four of the new cases are linked to a karate school attended by one of the cases reported yesterday. The karate school is at Ironside State School, but attended by kids from other schools. |
One of the new cases from the karate school is a student from Brisbane Boys Grammar. Their father has also tested positive. | One of the new cases from the karate school is a student from Brisbane Boys Grammar. Their father has also tested positive. |
There are two cases linked to Indooroopilly State high School and two cases linked to Ironside state school. | There are two cases linked to Indooroopilly State high School and two cases linked to Ironside state school. |
Miles said just 11,468 tests were done in the past 24 hours. | Miles said just 11,468 tests were done in the past 24 hours. |
Queensland has reported nine new cases of Covid-19. | Queensland has reported nine new cases of Covid-19. |
All were in the community and are linked to yesterday’s cases. | All were in the community and are linked to yesterday’s cases. |
Deputy premier Steven Miles says: | Deputy premier Steven Miles says: |
Speers asks Hazzard if there is any modelling to suggest that NSW will get the number of people infectious in the community to zero, or close to zero, at the end of this current four-week extension of the lockdown. | Speers asks Hazzard if there is any modelling to suggest that NSW will get the number of people infectious in the community to zero, or close to zero, at the end of this current four-week extension of the lockdown. |
Hazzard says the modelling is dependent on the inputs, which is kind of like saying graphs are dependent on numbers. | Hazzard says the modelling is dependent on the inputs, which is kind of like saying graphs are dependent on numbers. |
He puts it back on the vaccine rollout. | He puts it back on the vaccine rollout. |
But back on the modelling. Is there modelling showing NSW will get back to zero infectious in the community in four weeks? | But back on the modelling. Is there modelling showing NSW will get back to zero infectious in the community in four weeks? |
Speers: But what does it show at the moment? Have you got any modelling that says, ‘This will be over in four weeks’? | Speers: But what does it show at the moment? Have you got any modelling that says, ‘This will be over in four weeks’? |
Hazzard: | Hazzard: |
Speers: It doesn’t sound like it’s very concrete. | Speers: It doesn’t sound like it’s very concrete. |
Hazzard: | Hazzard: |
Back to Brad Hazzard on insiders. David Speers points out that even the prime minister has now acknowledged that the key lesson of the lsat six weeks is it’s better to go hard and early with a lockdown. | Back to Brad Hazzard on insiders. David Speers points out that even the prime minister has now acknowledged that the key lesson of the lsat six weeks is it’s better to go hard and early with a lockdown. |
Does Hazzard acknowledge that NSW should have gone earlier? | Does Hazzard acknowledge that NSW should have gone earlier? |
He does not, and again points to the “challenge” posed by the south-western suburbs of Sydney, which he relates to the northern and north-western suburbs of Melbourne in that both are culturally diverse communities. | He does not, and again points to the “challenge” posed by the south-western suburbs of Sydney, which he relates to the northern and north-western suburbs of Melbourne in that both are culturally diverse communities. |
Shouldn’t you have learned from the Victorian experience, asks Speers? And do you offer an apology for locking down earlier? | Shouldn’t you have learned from the Victorian experience, asks Speers? And do you offer an apology for locking down earlier? |
Hazzard: | Hazzard: |
Leaving that interview briefly to go to Queensland: the deputy premier, Steven Miles, will hold a press conference at 10am. | Leaving that interview briefly to go to Queensland: the deputy premier, Steven Miles, will hold a press conference at 10am. |