Overview
On Saturday, July 31, when 4pm hit, southeast Queensland went into lockdown again. Stay-at-home conditions were reintroduced to help stop the spread of locally acquired COVID-19 cases, after new instances of the Delta variant were identified in Brisbane's western suburbs.
Initially, the lockdown was planned to run for three days, ending on Tuesday, August 3. However, today, Monday, August 2, Deputy Premier Steven Miles has just announced that the stay-at-home rules will remain in place until at least 4pm on Sunday, August 8.
At Queensland's daily COVID-19 press conference, Deputy Premier Miles said "you'll recall we went from one [case] on the first day, then six and nine and now 13. So it's starting to become clear that the initial lockdown will be insufficient for the outbreak. So we're advising southeast Queenslanders in the 11 LGAs that the lockdown will be extended until 4pm on Sunday. That will make it an eight-day lockdown — and we desperately hope that that will be sufficient for our contact tracers to get [everyone potentially exposed to the current cases] into home quarantine."
The lockdown will remain in place in all 11 LGAs currently already under stay-at-home conditions: the Brisbane City Council, Logan, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley and Scenic Rim LGAs.
You can still only leave your home for four reasons: to get essential goods — for example, groceries and medications — but only within ten kilometres of your house; for essential work if you can't work from home, and for school or childcare; for exercise within ten kilometres of home, and only with one person who isn't in your household; and for healthcare, including to get a COVID-19 vaccination, or to provide help, care or support.
As introduced on Saturday, the big change from past lockdowns — including from Brisbane's January, March and June lockdowns — is the ten-kilometre limit. So, you can only go shopping or exercise within that distance of your house.
Also part of this lockdown: a complete ban on visitors to homes. In the past, you were allowed to have two people over, but this time you can't have anyone visit your house.
Masks are already compulsory in these areas, and are required to be worn everywhere in the lockdown areas — other than if you're at your own home.
Cinemas, entertainment venues, recreational venues, beauty and personal care services, and gyms are all closed, as are places of worship, while cafes, pubs and restaurants are only allowed to open for takeaway service. Funerals and weddings are also restricted to ten people.
And, folks who decide to come to any of the areas going into lockdown during the stay-at-home period are bound by the same restrictions, although travel is obviously discouraged — and no one should leave their locked-down area during this period.
The extension comes as Queensland reported 13 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, with 66 cases currently active throughout the state.
As it has been during the pandemic so far, Queensland Health is maintaining an active register of locations that have been visited by positive COVID-19 cases, which keeps growing — and which you can keep an eye on via the Queensland Health website.
In terms of symptoms, you should be looking out for coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste — and then getting tested at a clinic if you have any.
Eleven LGAs in the Greater Brisbane area will remain in lockdown until at least 4pm on Sunday, August 8. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website. More details about the lockdown and associated restrictions can also be found on the Queensland Health website.