Premier Annastacia Palasczczuk has warned parts of south-east Queensland may have to go into lockdown within days after five new local cases were reported on Saturday, but for now the region will remain open.
But some restrictions, including in aged care homes, have been reinstated.
Aged care centres on the south side of the Brisbane River and into the northern edge of Logan City are closed to visitors until further notice.
Ms Palaszczuk said “really good news” was that all five new cases were from the same family.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk Credit:Matt Dennien
“I know there’s a lot of concern amongst the community about is there a lockdown today,” she said.
“There is no lockdown today but in the next 24 to 48 hours we’ll be closely monitoring the situation and if we start seeing any seeding, then we may have to take very quick, fast action.
“But at the moment, it’s contained to the family.”
A daughter in the family, a student at St Thomas More College at Sunnybank, tested positive on Friday morning. Her mother, a staff member at Griffith University’s Nathan campus, test positive later in the day.
The family of five live in two households; one in Moorooka and a second in Sunnybank.
In a Friday night email to staff, the university advised staff to take equipment home “to prepare for any potential lockdown” in south-east Queensland.
Chied Health Officer Jeannette Young said the girl’s mother took her daughter to be tested after she complained of a headache.
“Can I just commend that mother,” she said.
“Her daughter had a headache.
“I’m a mother, I know my kids have headaches and issues and all the rest of it, so to have immediately gone out and got her daughter tested and her daughter’s tested positive, to get that so quickly means we can respond by just asking people to do what they’ve been doing so well.
“So wear your mask when you can’t socially distance, use those QR check-in codes and, like this family, the slightest hint of a symptom, a sniffle, a headache, anything at all, to come forward and get tested.
“That’s critical.”
Dr Young said contact tracers had established a likely link with an infected person from New South Wales.
“The father, who these children saw on Fathers’ Day, actually had a visitor from New South Wales stay with him overnight on Fathers’ Day,” she said.
“So we’re urgently working with New South Wales colleagues because this gentleman who was visiting has gone back to New South Wales, to get him tested.
“But I think that’s the most likely source for this outbreak this with this family of five.”
Dr Young said she remained hopeful they had caught this particular outbreak in the bud.
“We’re working through where the father works and exactly who needs to be contacted there, but because we’ve got this so early — we’ve got it in the first generation of cases — we’ve been able to bring this together and manage it,” she said.
“I just need everyone now, particularly in that Mount Gravatt area, in that northern Logan area, southern Brisbane area, it’s really, really important that if you have any symptoms whatsoever, you go and immediately get tested so we can find if we’ve had any further spread of this particular outbreak.
“We just need you to do that and work with us and then for everyone else, please go and get vaccinated.”
Dr Young said she had asked all aged care facilities, hospitals, disability care services and prisons within the Logan and south Brisbane areas to limit visitors, except for in end-of-life situations.
“I also asked that anyone who lives in those areas to not visit vulnerable settings elsewhere in Queensland,” she said.
“We don’t quite have enough of all of those sectors fully vaccinated yet to be able to protect them, so just for this outbreak please limit visitors to vulnerable settings.”
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