Brisbanites Will Be Able to Gather in Groups of 30 At Home and in Public from September 25
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young promised that the ten-person cap would lift when the state had had no community transmission for 14 days — and that's now the case.
With a pandemic spreading around the globe, 2020 hasn't been the year for parties. In Queensland since mid-August, it hasn't been the time for just hanging out in large groups either. But Brisbanites will be able to gather in slightly bigger numbers both at home and in public spaces from 1am on Friday, September 25, with the Sunshine State lifting the ten-person cap that's currently in effect in some southeast Queensland areas.
For the past month, in response to rising COVID-19 case numbers last month, folks living in the Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan City, Scenic Rim, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Moreton Bay and Redlands local government areas have been limited in their social gatherings — but, in mid-September, Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young advised that she'd look at removing the restrictions when Queensland had zero cases of the coronavirus via community transmission for a fortnight. That's now the case, so she's making good on that promise. From tomorrow, residents of the above regions will be able to gather in groups of 30, which is the same limit in place across the rest of the state.
Announcing the news today, Thursday, September 24, Dr Young noted that it has now been a fortnight since someone who is infectious has been out in the community — which she called "a really good outcome" after 55 cases related to recent clusters. She said, however, that the usual COVID-19 hygiene requirements still apply, as does the need to get tested if you experience any symptoms. "It's household transmission that is the biggest risk," Dr Young advised.
Addressing the need to still have a limit in place — of 30 people, rather than ten — she explained that due to asymptomatic COVID-19 cases, it's impossible to know if a case has been missed in the past few weeks, so caps are still required.
The news comes as Queensland reported no new COVID-19 cases at all for the third day in a row. Overall, since the pandemic began, Queensland has recorded 1153 COVID-19 cases — and currently has five active cases.
For more information about southeast Queensland's COVID-19 gathering restrictions, or about the status of COVID-19 in the state, visit the Qld COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website.
