COVID-19 UPDATE: No lockdown, but new cases

There have been five locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, but they are all family members of the 13-year-old girl whose positive test result was reported yesterday. South-East Queensland will not go into lockdown, but authorities remain in high alert.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young and Health Minister Yvette D’Ath have provided an update this morning.

Ms Palaszczuk says they believe the source of the infection was a visitor to the girl’s father’s home, who is from New South Wales.

She says health authorities will closely monitor the situation for the next 24-48 hours and if there is any ‘seeding’ they will need to take quick and decisive action.

It has been revealed the 13-year-old girl was suffering a headache, when her mother took her to get tested.

Ms Palaszczuk is urging people across South East Queensland, but particularly on the southside of Brisbane to be vigilant and get tested no matter how minor their symptoms are.

It comes as more than 11,000 people were tested in the past 24 hours, more than 23,000 were vaccinated and 37.07 per cent of the population have now received their second dose.

Fast action is the key

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young commended the girl’s mother for taking swift action.

“This means we can respond by asking people to do what they’ve been doing so well,” she says.

Dr Young says that's wearing masks, checking in, getting tested and getting vaccinated.

She has confirmed all five members of the family, across two households, have the Delta strain which appears to be linked to cases in New South Wales, not the Indooroopilly cluster or the truck driver from earlier this week.

About 1000 families connected with the St Thomas More College at Sunnybank are now in home quarantine.

The mother of 13-year-old girl worked at Griffith University’s Nathan campus on Wednesday, but did not come into contact with many people. Authorities are working with her to identify any risk and the campus is listed as a possible exposure site.

Dr Young is urging anyone with symptoms in the Mt Gravatt, north Logan and South Brisbane areas to get tested.

“If you have any symptoms, get immediately tested so we can find out if we have any further spread of this particular outbreak,” she says.

Be on alert

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath says vigilance is everything.

“We need people to do the right things more than ever before,” she says.

Checking in, wearing a mask, and getting tested are critical in stopping the spread and identifying new cases early, so action can be taken to keep Queenslanders safe.

She is encouraging people to register for a vaccine or find a clinic offering walk-ins this weekend. Options include some GPs and community pharmacies.

More than 55 per cent of Queenslanders have now had their first dose, but there is more work to be done.

“The more vaccine that comes in, the more vaccinations we’ll do,” she says.

Possible exposure sites