Queensland will close its border to people from Victoria from 1am Saturday, as the southern state’s coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.
Queensland recorded one new locally acquired case on Friday, the mother of a 12-year-old boy who spent time in the United States and completed quarantine in Sydney before flying to Brisbane.
She’d been in hospital with her son since he tested positive and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says there is no risk to the community. The boy’s father has also tested positive.
The family has been confirmed to have the Delta strain that is circulating in Sydney and has sent that city into lockdown.
Ms Palaszczuk said the sole case reported on Friday was fantastic news, and just what authorities were hoping for.
She said Queensland had no choice but to declare Victoria a hotspot, due to the worsening situation there.
“Anyone returning after that time will have to do 14 days of mandatory quarantine,” the premier said.
She told Queenslanders: “Do not go to NSW, do not go to Victoria during this period.”
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said NSW authorities will now have to determine how the 12-year-old boy who brought the virus to Brisbane became infected during quarantine.
Dr Young says 62 contacts of that family have been identified.
She is continuing to try to determine the source of a third case that was reported on Thursday, involving a woman who works as a supervisor at one of the boarding gates at the Brisbane International Airport.
So far no whole matches have been found via genomic sequencing so the source of that infection remains a mystery, but it is definitely the Delta strain.
So far 45 close and casual contacts of that airport worker have been identified, and they are being closely monitored and are isolating.
Dr Young says tests have confirmed that the family of three and the airport worker are new outbreaks, and not linked to other outbreaks that sent southeast Queensland and Townsville into a snap three-day lockdown just over a fortnight ago.
AAP
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