Coronavirus

Brisbane’s About To Go Into A 3-Day Lockdown, After A Positive Case Of The UK COVID-19 Strain

Today in news nobody wants to hear.

by Junkee  8 January 2021

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In news that absolutely nobody hoped to hear, Greater Brisbane is set to go into a three-day lockdown after a woman tested positive for the UK COVID-19 strain that’s said to be up to 70 percent more contagious than other strains of the virus.

The lockdown was announced this morning by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Greater Brisbane — Metro North, Metro South, and West Moreton — will be locked down from 6pm tonight until 6pm on Monday, January 11.

As per similar lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney, people living in the Greater Brisbane area will only be able to leave their homes for essential reasons.

“You can leave home if you are providing healthcare or support for a vulnerable person you can leave home for essential shopping, but within your local area and the 4th reason is to exercise in your local neighbourhood,” said Palaszczuk. In the announcement, the Premier also announced a mask mandate warning that “if we do not do this now, it could end up being a 30-day lockdown”.

The woman who tested positive for the new COVID strain — which has contributed to a reported 1 in 50 people in England having COVID-19 during the first week of January — is said to be the first hotel quarantine worker in Queensland to have contracted the virus.

While there are no recorded cases of community transmission linked to the case, there are currently 20 active cases of COVID-19 in Queensland.

The news comes just one day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected to rollout to high-priority Australians in “mid-to-late-February”. Honestly, it can’t come soon enough.