Logan mayor Darren Power has called on younger people to start heeding COVID-19 warnings as they risked the economy and their futures while flouting virus guidelines.
Cr Power, whose city is on high alert and at the centre of the latest Queensland outbreak, urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to educate youngsters as the economy and people's livelihoods were at risk.
Speaking at a press conference to announce a Cedar Grove wastewater plant going online, Cr Power said some young people were not taking the threat seriously enough.
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His words came after three cases had been confirmed in the city in the past two days, after two women reportedly lied about visiting Melbourne hotspots before flying back into Brisbane.
One of the women is a cleaner at Parklands Christian College. Concerned parents and students flocked to a testing centre set up at the school yesterday.
Authorities confirmed a third new case yesterday, with a 22-year-old woman who works at a Chatswood Hills after-school childcare centre contracting the virus.
Nearby Chatswood Hills State School was closed as a precaution, after it was reported there was a chance the woman had come into contact with a student there.
About 30 students had already been on an excursion to Parliament House that day in Brisbane, InQueensland reported.
Queensland Parliament speaker, Labor MP Curtis Pitt, asked anyone who came into contact with those school students to self isolate as a precaution.
It is understood the childcare worker is a close contact of the other two women, who visited venues across Logan and Brisbane, leaving businesses fearful of another lockdown.
Shutdown not on the agenda yet
Cr Power said citizens should not panic over the outbreak, and that a city-wide shutdown was not needed at this stage.
"I don't think we're there yet," he said.
"Queensland Health are doing a great job, and are re-tracing the steps given what's happened.
"I think what they have done so far is adequate in regards to tracing and locking down those areas they think is affected.
"We are nowhere near shutting down Logan, that's not on the agenda as I know it."
Education needed
Cr Power said more education with younger people was needed.
"We have to engage with the younger community," he said.
"They are unfortunately addressing social media as a way of getting information, and mixed messaging is coming out of there
"I just wish they had followed the general media and followed what's really happening in the world.
"I just think they haven't taken it seriously enough, but they are not on their own. There's so many young people out there doing what they want.
He urged Mr Morrison to step in.
"I think its the Prime Minister who has got to lay a message down to the younger people of this country that there's a lot more at stake than their health," Cr Power said.
"It's the security of Australia really.
"We've got issues where the economy is failing, and people are losing their livelihoods. These younger people have got to realise that it's a world they have got to live in.
"They are going to set the problems for themselves."
Cr Power said Logan businesses had not recovered from the original virus threat.
"There's a lot of restaurants and cafes, some of them haven't re-opened," he said.
"Look at Victoria. We don't want to go there."
He urged people to continue to take precautions to stop the spread of the virus.
"Don't take any risks. if you're sick, don't go anywhere, don't go to work. get yourself tested, please," he said.
"There's a lot at stake here."
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