COVID-19 update with record testing overnight

A total of 52,351 COVID tests were taken yesterday, another record for Queensland.

There are currently 112 active cases of COVID-19 in the state with the Deputy Premier Steven Miles announcing 16 new locally acquired cases in the past 24 hours this morning, all of which are directly linked to the Indooroopilly cluster.

Of the new cases, three were infectious in the community for one day and one was infectious for two days.

Three are students at Ironside State School, in the Brisbane suburb of St Lucia, and nine are household contacts linked to the school. Three cases are linked to Brisbane Grammar School, one is a teacher, two are students and one is a household contact.

There are also 11 overseas acquired cases detected on a marine vessel off Gladstone.

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding thanked residents for observing the current restrictions and getting tested.

“With a range of options available in Ipswich, now is the time to visit a testing centre if you have been to an exposure site or feel unwell at all,” Mayor Harding said.

“The latest figures show we are doing the right thing to keep our community safe.”

Contact tracing venues can be found at http://health.qld.gov.au/tracing

Testing clinics

Locally, the Mater Private Hospital in Springfield is open for testing from 8am until 4pm. They’ve provided 250 tests a day but had low or no wait time yesterday.

The QML Pathology drive-through clinic has tested 200 a day, but in waves.

Raceview Hockey Grounds, 65 Briggs Road, is open from 8am until 4pm.

The Ipswich Hospital Court Street Fever Clinic tested a record 320 people on Monday. It’s open for extended hours from 8am until 6.30pm.

Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology are open and COVID-19 testing at their Ipswich, Booval, Kenmore, Forest Lake, Mt Ommaney, Walloon and other clinics.

Due to increased demand, private testing and respiratory clinics will not require a GP referral until midnight Friday 6 August 2021.

Participating providers include Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology (SNP), Queensland Medical Laboratories (QML), 4Cyte Pathology, Medlab Pathology, Mater Pathology and Genomics for Life.

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19 you can visit your local doctor, fever clinic or respiratory clinic. Find more information about those here.

To find a COVID testing location near you, visit https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/stay-informed/testing-and-fever-clinics

Lockdown

The South East Queensland lockdown is currently until 4pm Sunday, 8 August 2021.

People in the local government areas of Ipswich, Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Logan, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and the Gold Coast are in lockdown.

Residents in South East Queensland can only leave home (which includes temporary accommodation such as a holiday rental) for essential purposes:

• Obtaining essential goods or services, including healthcare
• Exercising in your local area – it can only be within 10km of your home, and within 10km of your personal trainer’s home if you are exercising with a personal trainer
• Attending essential work or school and childcare for the children of essential workers or vulnerable children
• Assisting a vulnerable person or family member
• Obtaining a COVID-19 test or vaccination

Face masks

You must carry a face mask with you at all times. You must wear a face mask at all times when you are outside your home, unless:

• you are alone in your car or with the members of your household
• you are eating or drinking
• you are at your usual workplace and can physically distance from others (except if you work in a public-facing role in a hospitality venue or are a passenger transport operator)
• you are alone outdoors or exercising alone outdoors with members of your household. If you pass others, you must put on your mask
• it is unsafe.

There are some other exceptions to wearing face masks, including for children under 12 and people with particular medical conditions or disabilities. If in doubt, wear a face mask.

COVID-19 Vaccine

• Eligible people can now book to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at a Queensland Health vaccination location.
• The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is now recommended for use during pregnancy.
• The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is now the preferred vaccine for use in people under the age of 60.

Read more about the COVID-19 vaccine.