Southeast restrictions loom after new local COVID case found

FURTHER restrictions could be slapped on southeast Queenslanders, as authorities race to determine where a young man caught COVID-19 in the community.

A 26-year-old man from Stafford in Brisbane’s north tested positive on Thursday night after spending three days in the community while unknowingly infectious, visiting several popular venues across the region including a Bunnings and a major shopping centre.

As Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said there was no cause for alarm, Queenslanders have been urged to stop shaking hands and maintain social distancing amid fears people are becoming too relaxed.

Aged-care centres, hospitals, disability accommodation services and prisons in the Brisbane City Council and Moreton Bay Regional Council areas closed to visitors at noon on Friday while people in crowded venues have been encouraged to wear masks.

The Premier said it was “absolutely critical” that people who were sick stayed home and got tested, particularly over the next few days.

The new case is Queensland’s first case of community transmission in 13 days, after a doctor who was treating patients at the Princess Alexandra Hospital tested positive, plunging the facility into lockdown. Authorities do not know where the 26-year-old man caught the virus, with genome sequencing results expected to come back overnight or Saturday morning.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the man developed symptoms on Monday and became “reasonably unwell”.

The man was moved to the

Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital on Thursday night but he doesn’t have severe symptoms.

He visited areas right across Brisbane while unknowingly infectious, including Carindale Shopping Centre, a BaskinRobbins outlet at Everton Park and an Italian restaurant at Redcliffe. Dr Young said Carindale was a high-risk area.