Queenslanders will need to wait until Sunday morning to know if they’ll be freed from lockdown that same night as authorities work to isolate the state’s newest cluster of Delta coronavirus cases.
The state recorded 10 new cases today – five children and five adults - all linked to the Indooroopilly cluster in Brisbane.
Only two of the cases were infectious in the community - both for one day each.
More than 8500 people are in isolation as contact tracers continue to add venues of concern to Queensland Health’s list.
The Indooroopilly cluster now numbers 89 cases, with Cairns getting a brief scare earlier this week when a fully vaccinated marine pilot contracted coronavirus from a container ship in Far North Queensland.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the results were “very, very promising”.
“Queensland, you are doing an amazing job. You are getting tested, you are staying home, you are wearing your masks, you are doing the right thing ... All the indications are that it is working, we just need to keep it up. It is too soon to say what will happen over the next few days and whether we will be able to ease restrictions on Sunday,” he said.
Chief health officer Dr Jeanette Young said there were a number of “critical” things the state had to continue doing if they wanted to see restrictions eased at the weekend.
“We genuinely need to keep doing what we have been doing so effectively, so please continue to come forward and get tested, with any symptoms at all,” she said.
“We just have to find that first case, if we've got any new cluster happening, we need to know about it as soon as we possibly can. So that is critical.
“With Delta, we know that it is when people are breathing and interacting, and it can take only seconds for that transmission to happen, so please, just keep wearing masks, keep coming forward and getting tested, use that QR code so that if we do have any cases we can very rapidly get hold of everyone and get everyone into quarantine.
“It's those things that will keep us safe ... I genuinely am hopeful that we will be able to lift this on Sunday, but if we don't do all those things that will make it really difficult to lift Sunday and then, going forward, we are going to have to be incredibly cautious.”
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Dr Young said Queenslanders would likely be waiting until Sunday to know if restrictions will be eased.
Queensland’s coronavirus numbers are finalised at 6am every morning with authorities usually scrambling for a few hours before their daily press conference at 10am.
“I’d doubt it will be before Sunday. I will want to see the numbers on Sunday morning,” Dr Young said.
“It is just too quick. We’ve only had the lockdown for eight days. I will need every single one of those days to be able to work through when and if we should lift that lockdown on Sunday afternoon.”
Dr Young said even if the lockdown was eased, restrictions would still stay.
“There will still be restrictions, there always are restrictions after you remove a lockdown, but the specifics of those restrictions, I just need to see how things track over the next few days,” she said.
Masks will likely be a measure used until Christmas, Dr Young added.
“Masks are just so critical with this Delta variant, they really and truly are, and it is an issue that if we want to try and avoid lockdowns, we are going to have to get used to wearing masks,” she said.
“Hopefully it won't be through till Christmas but it could be.”
Queensland needed to do something ‘really, really special’ to be freed from lockdown
Dr Young said on Wednesday it would take something “really, really special” to see lockdown end on Sunday.
“Please, everyone, just think what you could do to just stay at home for the next few days until Sunday because it would be really good if we could lift it,” Dr Young said.
“That’s a big challenge, though, when I look at other states and how long it’s taken before they could lift their restrictions. If we don’t do something really, really, really special in Queensland, we’ll be extending the lockdown.”
Dr Young urged everyone to delay any non-essential shopping until next week.
“Please, I ask of all of you – try your absolute hardest to stay at home if you possibly can,” she said.
“Of course, go out for essential goods, but if it doesn’t matter, you can wait to buy that thing until next week, just leave it and let’s see where we are on Sunday and make some more decisions then about the necessity of whatever it is.
“Just think of what you can do in the next few days so we can lift this and we can beat all the predictions about how long it takes to get such a large cluster under control.”
That rhetoric was somewhat wound back yesterday when Dr Young said she was becoming increasingly “hopeful” the state could be freed on Sunday – albeit with some restrictions staying.
“If we are able to lift those stay-at-home restrictions on Sunday, of course we will be going and continuing with other restrictions,” Dr Young said.
“But that’s if we can lift it on Sunday. We’ve still got a while to go. We still need to do that 50,000 plus tests per day, we still need people, over 7000 of them, to remain in quarantine and not leave for any reason unless it is an absolute dire emergency.
“We need everyone to play their part, if everyone continues to keep paying their part as they have been, it is encouraging.”
Dr Young later admitted she hadn’t been expecting such promising numbers for the state.
“This is fantastic news; we did not expect to be this far in front of the virus,” she said yesterday.
“This is Queensland coming together brilliantly and working with us. We have still got a long way to go but we have done really, really, really well until now so let’s see how we go in the next few days.
“Let’s see if we can lift those restrictions on Sunday.
“That would be extremely special to be able to do that on Sunday and I am hopeful we can.”
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMipgFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS93b3JsZC9jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy9hdXN0cmFsaWEvY29yb25hdmlydXMtcXVlZW5zbGFuZC1sb2NrZG93bi1kZWNpc2lvbi1sb29tcy1hcy1kZWx0YS1vdXRicmVhay1ncm93cy9uZXdzLXN0b3J5LzRhOTQ2ZjNkYmQ4ZjFiNjRhOTE0MDU5ZTU5MjM0ZjA20gGmAWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLm5ld3MuY29tLmF1L3dvcmxkL2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzL2F1c3RyYWxpYS9jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy1xdWVlbnNsYW5kLWxvY2tkb3duLWRlY2lzaW9uLWxvb21zLWFzLWRlbHRhLW91dGJyZWFrLWdyb3dzL25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvNGE5NDZmM2RiZDhmMWI2NGE5MTQwNTllNTkyMzRmMDY?oc=5
2021-08-06 00:20:13Z
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