Restrictions flagged after second Gold Coast infection emerges
Annastacia Palaszczuk says more restrictions are likely on the Gold Coast if there is more unlinked transmission of the virus. Photo: Getty
Queensland has two more community COVID cases, including a mystery infection in a Gold Coast ride-share driver.
Thursday’s cases follow two announced in Queensland on Wednesday, one of which was also an unlinked Gold Coast infection.
There has been concern about the vaccination rate in the region, and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said residents should consider wearing masks where social distancing was not possible.
“We just don’t know where these cases have come from,” she said.
“If we see more unlinked community transmission on the Gold Coast in the next 24-48 hours, we may have to put in place some further restrictions.”
The Uber driver is a man his 50s, and is fully vaccinated. Contact tracing is underway.
- See all of Queensland’s virus exposure sites here
The other case is a teenage girl from the Scenic Rim town of Beaudesert. She was diagnosed in home quarantine, but spent “a couple of days” infectious in the community in nearby Warwick and Beaudesert before her positive test.
Ms Palaszczuk said authorities were less concerned about the teenager’s case.
Wednesday’s other community case was a Warwick resident who spent up to 10 days out and about while infectious. That person and the teenager are linked to an outbreak that has spread into Queensland from the NSW border town of Moree.
Meanwhile, Queensland has officially reached 80.1 per cent of eligible people partially vaccinated against the virus, with 68.31 per cent fully vaccinated.
“That is a tremendous milestone,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“We need to continue to drive up the vaccination rates and … in Brisbane, they are heading towards 90 per cent. But in some of our communities, in regional Queensland, we do need to continue to lift those vaccination rates.”
The 80 per cent milestone was a trigger for mandatory mask-wearing to be dropped across the state.
There was also another virus case in hotel quarantine on Thursday.