+ CHO HINTS: IT’S MASKS ‘TIL XMAS

A DECISION on lifting the Gold Coast lockdown will be made on Sunday morning.

The state’s chief health officer said on Friday that she needed as much time as possible before making the call.

“I will want to see the numbers Sunday morning; it’s just too quick,” Jeannette Young said. “We’ve only had the lockdown for eight days.

“I’ll need every single one of those days to be able to work through when and if we should lift that lockdown on Sunday afternoon.”

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said Queensland had recorded 10 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases linked to the Indooroopilly Delta cluster, which has a total of 89 cases.

Mr Miles said the news was “very, very encouraging” because only two of the new cases were infectious while out in the community – for one day and during lockdown.

Police said they had been in contact with a woman who fled a Gold Coast quarantine hotel this week but she was “not cooperating”. She tested negative for Covid-19 while in hotel quarantine but police still want her back in quarantine.

A total of 48,028 people were tested in the previous 24 hours and 8594 people were in home quarantine.

Queensland received the second-highest number of vaccinations in Australia on Thursday. Almost 20 per cent of Queenslanders have received both jabs, while 39.1 per cent have had one dose.

Victoria is now classified as a hotspot, with anyone travelling from the area into Queensland from 1am on Saturday having to go into hotel quarantine.

Mr Miles was asked if Mayor Tom Tate’s accusation that Gold Coast residents were being “punished” with a lockdown because the state government was worried Brisbane “residents may sneak down to the Coast” was true.

Mr Miles said: “I spoke to Mayor Tate yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. What we’ve emphasised is that the Gold Coast has been included in this lockdown, both because the originating case of this outbreak was treated at Gold Coast University Hospital and because there were exposure sites on the Gold Coast.

“I understand the concern that the Mayor has raised about its impact on businesses on the Gold Coast, but it’s critically important that we take the health advice and we apply these restrictions on the geographical areas where there are concerns, and at this stage, that includes the Gold Coast.”

When pushed further, Mr Miles said the Gold Coast was part of an area that runs from the border to the Sunshine Coast.

“It’s very difficult to put borders in place between the southern LGAs that are part of Brisbane, largely considered part of Brisbane, and the Gold Coast,” he said. “There’s lots and lots of roads between that would be very challenging to try and enforce movement restrictions there.”

Dr Young said the new cases were five children and five adults.

“We need to keep it up for the next few days, we’re not there yet,” she said. “So please come forward and get tested with any symptoms at all, we just have to find those new cases. If we’ve got any new cluster happening we need to know about it as soon as we possibly can.”

Dr Young urged the importance of wearing masks to help stop the spread of Delta, and cautioned they may need to be worn until Christmas.

She said the Education Department had managed to source masks that could fit smaller children and that officials were considering a pilot program to roll out masks in primary schools among older year levels.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said 113 community pharmacies across the South East would start offering the AstraZeneca vaccine from Friday. She reminded people not to wait longer than 12 weeks between their first and second AZ dose, and said it should be after eight weeks.

Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said that on Thursday police intercepted 3445 vehicles and handed out 20 penalty infringement notices. Police also attended 120 calls for service and handed out 302 masks.

Mr Gollschewski said all 216 businesses visited by police were compliant.

Meanwhile, Gold Coast residents can now lodge their claim for the federal government’s Covid-19 disaster payment. They will be back paid to the start of the lockdown.

Eligible residents can claim the payment of $750 a week if they have lost 20 or more hours of work, and $450 a week if they have lost between eight and less than 20 hours of work, or a full day of work.

People who receive an income support payment can also claim a payment of $200 if they have lost more than eight hours of work and meet the other eligibility requirements.

For details visit my.gov.au or servicesaustralia.gov.au/ covid19

I UNDERSTAND THE CONCERN THAT THE MAYOR HAS RAISED ABOUT ITS IMPACT ON BUSINESSES ON THE GOLD COAST, BUT IT’S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE TAKE THE HEALTH ADVICE AND WE APPLY THESE RESTRICTIONS ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS WHERE THEY ARE CONCERNS, AND AT THIS STAGE, THAT INCLUDES THE GOLD COAST

STEVEN MILES