Greater Brisbane will go into a three-day lockdown and restrictions will come into place across Queensland after a small number of COVID-19 cases were detected in the community. The snap lockdown has upended FIFO mineworkers travelling from Brisbane across Australia with many having to quarantine for several days on arrival at their destinations.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said six of the cases were overseas acquired but four were local —two directly linked to the recent cluster. The other two cases have an unknown origin.
“What this means for Greater Brisbane is that we will have to go into a three-day lockdown,” the Premier told reporters on Monday.
“This is the UK strain. It is highly infectious. Now we need to do this now to avoid a longer lockdown.”
From 5pm today (29th March 2021), residents in the local government areas of Brisbane, Ipswich, Moreton Bay, Logan and Redlands can only leave home for one of these four reasons:
- To buy essentials such as groceries or medications
- Work or study if you can’t do either from home
- Exercise in your local area
- Healthcare or to provide help, care or support
Residents in locked down areas must wear masks when not at home, including in ride shares, on public transport and in workplaces.
Cafés, pubs and restaurants will be open only for take-away service.
Schools in the locked down areas will remain open for children of essential workers.
The Queensland Government has confirmed that throughout the rest of Queensland, masks should be worn while indoors except at home, and private gatherings are restricted to 30 people.
“To keep our most vulnerable Queenslanders safe, aged care, correctional centres, hospitals and disability service providers will close to visitors across the state. The restrictions will be reviewed on Wednesday evening.” Ms Palaszczuk said.
The mining industry has been one of Australia’s best responders in relation to the COVID-19 crisis with mines benchmarking standards for control and management of the virus.
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