The Acting Australian Government Chief Medical Officer, Professor Michael Kidd, has today declared the City of Brisbane, Moreton Bay Region, Redland City, Logan City, City of Ipswich, Shire of Noosa, City of Gold Coast, Lockyer Valley Region, Scenic Rim Region, Somerset Region and Sunshine Coast Region LGAs a COVID-19 Hotspot for the purposes of Commonwealth support. This is for an initial period of 3 days from 11:59pm 31 July, to expire at 11:59pm on 3 August, with review on or before this date.
Today, Queensland has announced the occurrence of six new locally acquired cases, which are all associated with the case detected in a high school student on 29 July 2021. The source of acquisition of the initial case has not yet been determined. There have also been multiple exposure sites in the area due to cases being infectious whilst in the community.
Whole genome sequencing has confirmed case to be infected with the Delta variant of concern. Professor Michael Kidd reminds members of the public of the increased risk of the highly transmissible Delta Variant and requests that they continue to follow the directions of the Queensland Government.
Due to the increased risk posed by the Delta variant, the unknown source of acquisition for the initial case, and cases having been infectious in the community providing opportunities for onward transmission, the Commonwealth has offered the below support and assistance.
Declaring a hotspot for Commonwealth support triggers, if required:
- Provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) from the National Medical Stockpile
- Actions for aged care facilities including PPE, single site workforce supplement and integration of an aged care response centre into the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre
- Assistance with contact tracing, if requested
- Asymptomatic testing via General Practitioner led Respiratory Clinics
- Reprioritisation of vaccine supplies, if required
- Access to COVID-19 Disaster Payment, if eligibility criteria are met
- Two Medicare Benefits Schedule items for telehealth consultations for patients in COVID-19 hotspots
