Queensland marks 100 days without community transmission  

It’s now been 100 days since Queensland last recorded a case of COVID-19 acquired in the Queensland community.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath said the hard work of Queenslanders has helped to ensure Queensland continues to be in a strong position against COVID-19.

“Since 15 September 2020, we haven’t had a single case of COVID-19 acquired in the Queensland community,” Minister D’Ath said.

“This is a remarkable achievement, and Queenslanders and visitors to Queensland should be very proud of the personal efforts they have made towards this milestone in the pandemic response.

“We are all in this together, and everyone has a role to play to limit the spread of COVID-19,” she said.

Minister D’Ath said since the start of the pandemic, Queensland has responded strongly.

“We’ve had to implement some tough measures throughout 2020, but they have been essential to save lives and protect the health of Queenslanders,” she said.

“While we still have some restrictions in place, we are slowly and steadily lifting restrictions in a sensible and balanced way.

“Now we are able to travel within the state and interstate, enjoy private gatherings in outdoor public spaces up to 100 people, have up to 200 people at a wedding, indoor and outdoor dancing is allowed, and venues with ticketed, allocated seating can have up to 100 per cent capacity,” she said.

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said Queenslanders still needed to careful, especially over the festive season as family and friends get together for gatherings and more interstate visitors come to Queensland.

“While COVID-19 remains a threat around the globe, we still need to be careful and make sure we don’t undo all our hard work,” Dr Young said.

“As we’ve seen in Sydney, clusters can appear almost overnight and it may mean restrictions and even lockdowns have to be reinstated.

“I don’t want to see that happen in Queensland, and that’s why it’s so important to practice social distancing when you’re out and about over the festive season so everyone can enjoy their Christmas and New Year.

“I continue to encourage you to get tested if you experience any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, and make sure any family and friends visiting from interstate know they can get tested too at any of our testing clinics.

“We want to do everything we possibly can to make sure that we do not get any community transmission here in Queensland,” she said.

Hospitality venues such as pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, cafes and other venues that serve food and drink are reminded they should now be recording and storing contact details of patrons, guests and staff electronically following changes to the Restrictions on Businesses, Activities and Undertakings Direction (No.12).

 We encourage people to use a QR code when checking in to a venue if it is available. If a venue does not have a QR code or you don’t have a smart phone, speak to venue staff so they can record your details in an electronic form.

Contact details must be kept electronically so data can be accessed quickly and efficiently to support contact tracing efforts, and to ensure all information is legible at the time of collection.

Compliance officers will work with businesses in coming weeks to ensure they understand their responsibilities and comply with Queensland Chief Health Officer Directions. 

ENDS

Media contact: Lucy Collier - 0409 461 324