By Juliano Oliveira
“Please, don’t rush out and panic buy. The supermarkets are full of supplies and will operate as per usual. Groceries and essentials will still be available while we’re in lockdown.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has urged residents to stay calm after announcing a three-day lockdown and restrictions starting at 5 pm in Greater Brisbane.
Ten new cases of COVID-19 were registered overnight – four cases have been confirmed as community transmission. There are 73 active cases and a total of 1,456 patients.
“The restrictions will be reviewed on Wednesday evening. These measures are tough, but they are important to keep our community safe,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“For the rest of Queensland, masks should be worn while indoors except at home, and private gatherings are restricted to 30 people. Aged care, correctional centres, hospitals and disability service providers will close to visitors across the state.”
From 5:00 pm on Monday, Greater Brisbane residents will only be able to leave their homes for four essential purposes.
These include:
- Shopping — to buy essentials like groceries or medications
- Work or study — if you can’t do either from home
- Healthcare — or to provide help, care or support
- Exercise in your local area – either in your family group, or anyone by themselves can exercise with one other person from a different household
Last Thursday, a 26-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19 and was confirmed as having the UK variant. On Saturday, close contact with him, in his 20s, was also infected.
All patients are linked to the south Brisbane cluster announced on March 12, which now have seven cases.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said one of the new cases was in the city of Gladstone. Two other cases visited Byron Bay while contagious.
“We now have significant community transmission,” Dr Young said.
“The current cluster we’re dealing with has seven cases: the initial two gentlemen and now a brother of one of those that we think could be that link [to] the PA doctor who was infectious two weeks ago,” Dr Young said.
“Then we have two colleagues of the second new case, who have tested positive yesterday, and one of those people was in Gladstone for three days while they were infectious.
“Then late last night I was notified of another case, who happens to be a nurse working in the COVID ward, she did some shifts there, but I’m not sure that’s where she’s acquired it – we will need to wait for genome sequencing results that we should get back late tonight or tomorrow morning, which will make it clear.”