Greater Brisbane is about to go into a three-day lockdown, starting at 5pm today, March 29 — following the news that there are 10 new cases of coronavirus in the area. Four of those cases are from community transmission.
The lockdown includes the council areas of Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Moreton and Brisbane.
Two of the four cases are linked to the 26-year-old man who tested positive to the highly infectious UK strain on Thursday, and who was falsely accused of having a 25-person party while waiting for his results. The other two are under investigation, according to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, as they are currently of “unknown origin”.
One of the cases under investigation is believed to be a nurse from “the PA hospital”, the other is believed to be her sister. They both visited Byron Bay while infectious, but dates are yet to be confirmed.
According to ABC News, one of the cases has been infectious in the community while in Gladstone and authorities are trying to identify what places and areas that person has been to.
Masks will be mandatory for the three-day period, and people in the area will only be able to leave their homes for essential reasons — including grocery shopping, exercise, work and medical care. The limit to visitors in the home is two; outside of the area, gatherings are limited to 30.
Schools will be closed from tomorrow, March 30, but will remain open for children of essential workers.
The lockdown has been deemed necessary by Premier Palaszczuk, as “This is the UK strain. It is highly infectious.” She also claims that doing so now prevents a longer lockdown in the future.
Greater Brisbane has been declared a “hotspot” by the Premier, and she is currently urging other states and territories to declare it the same — several of which have taken heed.
No news yet on how it’ll impact Easter plans…or the Easter Bunny, for that matter.
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