queensland Premier Annastasia Palaszczuk announced two new community COVID cases in the state on Friday morning, but no new cases linked to the Gold Coast Uber Driver.
Both the new cases were found in home quarantine and were considered low risk.
Acting Chief Health Officer Peter Aitken said two cases had been identified Ghana were ‘genomically linked’ this week, but health officials are unsure of the link.
Pacific Pines Man was the first case on the Gold Coast.
Ms Palaszczuk reiterated her statement from Thursday that the next 24 to 48 hours will determine whether the strict COVID-19 restrictions are required Ghana after a Uber The driver tested positive after being infected for three days.
Asked whether the Gold Coast will enter lockdown, Ms Palaszczuk said: “We don’t want to entertain it at this point.” ‘It will depend on whether there is an unlinked transmission or not.’
The first dose vaccination rate across the state is 80.55 percent, while the overall vaccination rate is 68.84 percent.
“We should meet the 70 percent double dose milestone on Sunday or Monday,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
A man claiming to be a weekend customer said the Gold Coast Uber driver was not wearing a mask during his trip (pictured, Burley Heads)
A fully vaccinated man in his 50s was one of two new cases reported yesterday, with a teen from the beautiful rim city of Beaudesart – linked to an existing cluster – also testing positive.
Contactors have been working for more than three days in the community to potentially expose any traveler to the infectious disease.
‘NSO’ [Gold Coast] Not out of the woods, but we have to monitor it very carefully,’ Ms Palaszczuk said.
‘We know there can be community transmission, we have a large number of people who have been vaccinated on the Gold Coast, but I want to see more.’
There are concerns about vaccination rates in the area, and Ms Palaszczuk said residents should consider wearing masks where social distancing is not possible.
His advice comes less than a day after the state had previously reached the 80 percent target for vaccine doses, and the easing of mask restrictions as a result.
The developing situation is different from previous cases in the southern city of Gundiwindi, which had the highest vaccination rate in the state.
“They had very, very high vaccination rates … we don’t have them on the Gold Coast, so I’m worried,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
‘If we see more unrelated community transmissions on the Gold Coast in the next 24 to 48 hours, we may have to put in place some more restrictions,’ Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk (pictured said on Thursday)
He said the Gold Coast area accounts for about 80 percent of the first dose for eligible residents.
Paul Erasmus, who claimed to be a passenger in an Uber driver’s car last weekend, told 9News Queensland that he was not wearing a mask during his trip.
“As soon as I walked in, he wasn’t wearing a mask in the car for the entire ride,” Mr. Erasmus said.
‘I once saw him coughing.’
Mr Erasmus said he was informed by Queensland Health on Wednesday that he had been identified as a close contact because of the weekend’s rent.
Now he will have to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Uber said in a statement later on Thursday: ‘We have procedures in place to temporarily remove an individual’s access to the Uber app if authorities report an infection.
If health officials advise that there is a risk, we may limit other individuals’ access to the App.
The Gold Coast area accounts for about 80 percent of the first dose for eligible residents (pictured, Surfers Paradise)
‘To help protect everyone’s health and safety, we are advising anyone riding or driving with Uber in Queensland to wear a mask, unless exempted by law.’
Queensland Health later on Sunday listed two new accidental contact risk sites at Robina on the Gold Coast – a coffee shop and a JB Hi-Fi.
The second case reported on Thursday was contagious for two days in the city of Warwick and less than a day in Beaudesert, and is linked to a cluster in Moray, NSW.
The state recorded one more case in hotel quarantine.