Six additional COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in a burgeoning cluster at Brisbane's youth detention centre, prompting Queensland health authorities to limit indoor and outdoor gatherings.
Queensland reported nine new cases on Saturday, three of which in crew members on cargo ships and the other six connected to the detention centre.
Children at the Wacol centre remain in lockdown and tests continue after a worker was diagnosed with the virus on Wednesday. The 77-year-old Ipswich woman had experienced mild symptoms and continued to work while infectious.
The centre's 127 residents have been in lockdown since Wednesday evening and none have yet been diagnosed, while all 500 staff members are being tested.
Of the seven cases in the cluster, five are detention centre staff and two are close contacts. Contact tracing is under way.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Saturday announced indoor and outdoor gatherings without a COVID-safe plan in Queensland's southeast would immediately be capped at 10 people. There would be a 30-person limit on gatherings elsewhere in the state.
Aged care homes and disability accommodation services in the state's southeast would also go into immediate lockdown.
"We're concerned about this (detention centre) cluster because people have been out and about in the community," Ms Palaszczuk told reporters.
"We do expect there could be even more cases linked to this cluster but we will not know those until further results come in."
The cases mark Queensland's first locally-acquired transmissions in more than a month.
The youth detention centre will not be taking new admissions and all face-to-face visits and court appearances have been cancelled.
Queensland chief medical officer Dr Jeannette Young on Saturday said the detention centre-linked cases were residents of Bundamba, Marsden, Carindale, North Ipswich and Forest Lake.
"Because in Queensland we jump on things after seven cases, I sincerely believe we'll get on top of it," Dr Young told reporters, adding vulnerable people should stay at home over the weekend.
Authorities face a nervous wait to to discover if the cases are genomically linked to an outbreak triggered by two Logan women who dodged quarantine following a visit to Melbourne in June.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding admitted there was fear in her community.
"People are scared but at least people know we've got their backs. West Moreton Health and Queensland Health have ramped up really quickly, I'm really proud of the team," Ms Harding told reporters on Saturday.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on the state government to relax Queensland's hard border closure amid concerns for the healthcare needs of NSW-Queensland border communities.
"Lives are really being disrupted and you've got to ask why when the medical advice is not saying that is what is needed," Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the Nine Network.
Dr Young on Friday denied elimination was the state's COVID-19 strategy.
Australian Associated Press
