COVID-19 Update: No new locally acquired cases

Queensland has recorded no new locally acquired cases overnight, with the only new case from overseas and in quarantine.

Health Minister and Member for Redcliffe Yvette D’Ath says this is wonderful news and testament to the effectiveness of contact tracing associated with two clusters which started at the PA Hospital and forced Greater Brisbane into lockdown.

More than 14,000 people were tested for COVID-19 yesterday and there are still 72 active cases in the state.

Contact tracing works

“This is all part of our plan with the three-day lockdown to ensure that we can get enough people tested,” Mrs D’Ath says.

“It has given us the opportunity to contact-trace, to identify, to test and contain.

“We were able to trace over 3000 people and ask them to go into quarantine.

“This meant that we can open up our economy and it’s wonderful to see our tourism operators seeing record numbers.”

Thanks to those in quarantine

Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Sonya Bennett says the state is making great progress in containing the spread of the virus.

“A lot of people are finding themselves in quarantine who didn’t expect it and we would like to say thank you to all those people,” Dr Bennett says.

Centralised treatment a possibility

Mrs D’Ath says the government is exploring the option of having all COVID-19 patients treated in one hospital, rather than spread across multiple locations.

“It’s simply an option that’s being explored at the moment – we’re looking at what’s the best method going forward,” she says.

“We’re looking at what would be required, what services would need to be around those wards and how many beds would need to be set aside.”

Stay up to date with the list of venues visited by those associated with the clusters here.

Find out where to be tested for COVID-19 here.

Read more local news here.