Skip to main content

The real reason Queensland goes into lockdown: Why their new contact tracing codes, farcical testing methods and failure to learn from other states led to a three-day shutdown for 2.5million people

Queensland's rush to an extraordinary three-day lockdown in greater Brisbane highlights just how unprepared the state is for a significant Covid outbreak.

Despite reporting no locally acquired cases on Friday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk ordered 2.5million people across the Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Redlands council areas to stay home for fear of a UK coronavirus super strain spreading.

But the rush to lockdown has raised serious questions about the state's preparedness for a coronavirus emergency - and sparked a new bout of panic buying.

Unlike other states, Queensland's contact tracing systems have not been properly stress tested after 113 days with no community transmission.

Scroll down for video 

Queensland's rush to an extraordinary three-day lockdown in greater Brisbane highlights just how unprepared the state is for a significant Covid outbreak. Despite reporting no locally acquired cases on Friday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk ordered 2.5million people across Brisbane (woman at Newstead pictured), Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Redlands council areas to stay home for fear of the UK coronavirus super strain spreading

Queensland's rush to an extraordinary three-day lockdown in greater Brisbane highlights just how unprepared the state is for a significant Covid outbreak. Despite reporting no locally acquired cases on Friday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk ordered 2.5million people across Brisbane (woman at Newstead pictured), Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Redlands council areas to stay home for fear of the UK coronavirus super strain spreading

Vital QR codes for checking into cafes and restaurants were only made mandatory two weeks ago, while people have reported waiting up to six hours to get Covid tests.

With Brisbane going into lockdown for three days from 6pm, Health Minister Yvette D'Ath boasted that Queensland had done much better than the other big states.

'We've had less positive cases, we've had less deaths and we've gone 113 days without a community case so I think Queensland has been doing well,' she told Daily Mail Australia by phone.

'I'm very, very proud of the processes we've had in place and we believe we've taken the right response this time which is going hard, going fast and knowing that it's important to get ahead of this virus.'

Since the start of the pandemic, the Sunshine State has had just six deaths from coronavirus out of Australia's 909 fatalities.

The state's total Covid cases count of 1,265 is well below Victoria's 20,402 and the New South Wales tally of 4,984. 

The rush to lockdown has raised serious questions about the state's preparedness for a coronavirus emergency - and sparked a new bout of panic buying. Pictured are shoppers at Coles New Farm in Brisbane's gentrified inner-north

The rush to lockdown has raised serious questions about the state's preparedness for a coronavirus emergency - and sparked a new bout of panic buying. Pictured are shoppers at Coles New Farm in Brisbane's gentrified inner-north

Queensland is placing 2.5million Brisbane residents into lockdown having never properly had to fight a flare-up in Covid cases. Pictured is a Woolworths queue at Mount Gravatt

 Queensland is placing 2.5million Brisbane residents into lockdown having never properly had to fight a flare-up in Covid cases. Pictured is a Woolworths queue at Mount Gravatt

The downside of fewer cases means Queensland hasn't had to react with as much urgency, compared to the bigger eastern states, and is arguably less prepared having not had to stress test its health response in a big city.

At Cairns, in the state's tropical far north, residents have to make appointments rather than just turn up and wait for a drive-in test and across the state, there are long wait times, stretching in some cases to six hours.

With Brisbane going into lockdown for three days from 6pm, Health Minister Yvette D'Ath boasted that Queensland had done much better than the other big states

With Brisbane going into lockdown for three days from 6pm, Health Minister Yvette D'Ath boasted that Queensland had done much better than the other big states

Before Christmas, poor contact tracing meant a woman in Brisbane unknowingly infected with Covid visited The Glen Hotel in Eight Mile Plains.

That December 16 visit occurred a week before QR codes were mandated in Queensland. 

In the New Year, only ten days after QR codes were made compulsory in Labor-run Queensland, a Brisbane woman working as a cleaner in hotel quarantining unwittingly caught and possibly spread a more contagious strain of coronavirus from the UK.

On January 2, she caught an early morning train from Altandi station at Sunnybank in Brisbane's south to the Roma Street station in the city, near where she worked at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, and returned home that afternoon.

A day later, on a Sunday, she also visited a Woolworths at Calamvale Central Shopping Centre, in southern Brisbane.

Vital QR codes for checking into cafes and restaurants were only made mandatory two weeks ago, while people have reported waiting up to six hours to get covid tests. Pictured is a long wait in Brisbane on Friday

Vital QR codes for checking into cafes and restaurants were only made mandatory two weeks ago, while people have reported waiting up to six hours to get covid tests. Pictured is a long wait in Brisbane on Friday

Now Queensland is panicking, or at least lacking fulsome faith in its contact tracing system.

Ms D'Ath, who took over as the state's Health Minister in November, admitted QR codes could not keep track of everyone as they are not used for public transport or shopping malls or supermarkets.

'The system is not completely infallible, as in tracing everyone,' she said.

Ms D'Ath said she would have preferred more Queenslanders to have installed the federal government's COVIDSafe app.

'It would have been good to have more people take up the use of that app,' she said.  

'We're doing everything we can where people are sitting down and attending venues to have that code in place.'

The Health Minister also justified the Brisbane-wide lockdown, arguing the UK strain of the virus was much more contagious.

Premier Annnastacia Palaszczuk's Sunshine State mandated this form of contact tracing just two weeks ago on December 23, just as visitors were banned from greater Sydney. New South Wales began trialling QR codes back in August. Pictured is a Sydney woman checking in at Manly

Premier Annnastacia Palaszczuk's Sunshine State mandated this form of contact tracing just two weeks ago on December 23, just as visitors were banned from greater Sydney. New South Wales began trialling QR codes back in August. Pictured is a Sydney woman checking in at Manly

'The difference between what's happening in Queensland and the difference between every other infection and cluster that has happened around Australia today is this is the first one of the UK variant,' Ms D'Ath said.

'It is a different variant, it is highly contagious and the advice from the health experts are you cannot use the same restrictions that have been used previously across Australia to deal with this.

'It's not adequate. You need to be stronger so we've taken that advice.' 

South of the Tweed River, New South Wales made QR codes compulsory on November 23, instead of just allowing visitors to fill out a book, but this technology has been widely in use since August following a trial at Dubbo in the state's central west.

By mid-August, 60 cases of Covid were linked to the Crossroads Hotel at Casula in Sydney's outer south-west but NSW Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian declined to place all of greater Sydney into a lockdown.

Now Queensland is panicking, or at least lacking fulsome faith in its contact tracing system, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announcing on Friday the imposition of a three-day lockdown on all of Brisbane's 2.5million residents from 6pm, Queensland time - all over one case. Pictured are queues at Chermside in Brisbane's north

Now Queensland is panicking, or at least lacking fulsome faith in its contact tracing system, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announcing on Friday the imposition of a three-day lockdown on all of Brisbane's 2.5million residents from 6pm, Queensland time - all over one case. Pictured are queues at Chermside in Brisbane's north

Another outbreak before Christmas on Sydney's Northern Beaches, originating at Avalon, and a separate flare-up at the BWS bottle shop at Berala in the city's west saw state-wide case numbers climb to 200 by the first week of 2021.

Queensland reacted on December 22 by banning anyone from entering the state if they had been in greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains or Wollongong during the past 14 days. 

NSW has reacted by making face masks compulsory, since January 3, at shopping malls and indoor venues across greater Sydney. 

Good contact tracing, however, meant the pre-Christmas and New Year outbreak could be contained without placing Sydney into another lockdown, like the nationwide one from March to May. 

Ms D'Ath said Queensland wanted a short, sharp lockdown to avoid longer-term restrictions like compulsory face masks.

Only ten days after QR codes were made compulsory in Labor-run Queensland, a Brisbane woman working as a cleaner in hotel quarantining unwittingly spread a more contagious strain of coronavirus from the UK. On January 2, she caught an early morning train from Altandi station at Sunnybank in Brisbane's south to the Roma Street station in the city, near where she worked at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, and returned home that afternoon

Only ten days after QR codes were made compulsory in Labor-run Queensland, a Brisbane woman working as a cleaner in hotel quarantining unwittingly spread a more contagious strain of coronavirus from the UK. On January 2, she caught an early morning train from Altandi station at Sunnybank in Brisbane's south to the Roma Street station in the city, near where she worked at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, and returned home that afternoon

'Those restrictions in New South Wales are still ongoing,' she said. 

'Even though there's less restrictions, sometimes those restrictions go for weeks or months so we want to act quickly to try to get on top of this so we don't have long-term restrictions.'

Contrast that with Victoria, which lacked proper contact tracing in July and August.

A flare-up in Melbourne's north and west in July, as a result of poor hotel quarantining, saw the state's Labor Premier Daniel Andrews place all of Melbourne's five million residents into a strict, Stage Four lockdown from early August until late October.

During those early days, Victoria recorded 439 new daily cases on August 4 in a horror month where the curve took a long time to flatten, despite bans on leaving home beyond one-hour exercise and visiting the supermarket or chemist.

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o