Queensland
© Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesQueensland narrowly missed entering a lockdown as health authorities are confident they have identified the source of the state's latest COVID cluster.
Queensland has recorded five new local COVID-19 cases overnight as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warns restrictions could be re-imposed very quickly if virus seeding has occurred in the community.

The Premier announced all five new cases were recorded in the same family - all household contacts of the young girl who tested positive on Friday.

Ms Palaszczuk said the state narrowly avoided a lockdown but health would continue to monitor the situation closely.

"I know there's a lot of concern out there at the moment amongst the community about is there a lockdown today - there is no lockdown today," she said at a press conference on Saturday morning.


Comment: Our glorious and benevolent leaders...


"But I will say this, over 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."



About 1,000 people from the school community of the young girl - who attends St Thomas Moore College in Sunnybank - have entered isolation.


Comment: Young people in particular are next to no risk from the coronavirus, and by quarantining them they're preventing herd immunity being achieved.


Ms Palaszczuk thanked the infected family's mother who took her daughter to get tested when she complained of a headache, saying it was a "God-send" to have identified the infections so early.


Comment: This is the 'deadly pandemic'?


The Premier stressed the need for Queenslanders to mask up when attending indoor venues and to check-in, urging people to "please do the right thing".

"I noticed I went to a café the other day and they checked that I was checking in. So if they're checking me they're going to be checking you."


Comment: Not quite, and the Premier should know that she isn't treated like just the average citizen. However her comments throughout reek of rhetorical devices intended to manipulate behaviour and sow discord, whether its intentional or not remains to be seen.


She also encouraged everyone to come forward for vaccination - as 55.4 per cent of Queenslanders have received at least one dose while 37.07 per cent are fully vaccinated.


Comment: The looming threat of repeated lockdowns will likely continue, regardless of the true severity of cases and variants, because these threats help wear down those that have thus far declined the kind offer of the experimental injections.


"There is a sense of urgency here because we are seeing these clusters that pop up and we need to make sure that we are protected as much as we possibly can," Ms Palaszczuk said.


Comment: Elsewhere, such as in the UK, clusters and variants were reported in those areas where vaccine uptake rose.


"There are thousands and thousands of cases in New South Wales, it is just across our border and we've seen how easy it is for it to get across our border - whether its in a freight driver or a visitor from NSW.

"That's why we have our tough border measures in place but we can't stop everything so we need Queenslanders to play their part and I know that they will absolutely do that."

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young confirmed all five cases - across two households - are the Delta variant and are not linked to the Indooroopilly cluster or recent Beenleigh outbreak.

"The best that we can see is it's linked to cases in NSW," she said.

Dr Young revealed the children of the family had visited their father on Father's Day at his house where he had another visitor from NSW stay overnight - who is believed to be the source of the family's infection.

The visitor has since returned to NSW, however, and has not yet been tested.