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South Australia has reported five local COVID-19 infections, all involving the family of a miner who recently returned from the Northern Territory.
But Premier Steven Marshall says the state will not be going into lockdown.
The new cases involve the miner, his wife and three of their children, all aged under 10.
"While this is a very concerning turn of events, we are very relieved this person and this family have been at home since Saturday," Mr Marshall said.
He said the family had all been transferred to Adelaide's dedicated facility for positive coronavirus cases.
The cases were regarded as "linked transmissions" from the Northern Territory exposure mine site.
The other 28 miners who returned from the same NT mine have also been in isolation since arriving in SA and are being retested.
Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said officials had moved to require anyone on the same Alice Springs to Adelaide flight as the infected miner on Friday, to go into isolation.
More than 100 people who were on board VA1742 have already been contacted with a small number still to be notified.
Checking is also underway to identify any possible contacts at Adelaide Airport and at a suburban takeaway food outlet the man visited on his way home.
Both those locations are considered low risk.
Professor Spurrier said while the outbreak was regarded as contained at this stage, more work remained to be done and officials did not want the Delta strain of the virus to become widespread in the community.
"What we're seeing with this Delta variant is there's almost a 100 per cent hit rate for close contacts," she said.
In response to the new cases, SA's transition committee has reduced the number of people allowed at family gatherings to just 10.
While the AFL game between the Adelaide Crows and the Brisbane Lions at Adelaide Oval on Saturday is still expected to go ahead, a decision is yet to be made on whether or how many spectators will be allowed.
Premier Marshall said people were being advised to work from home where possible, and everyone was urged to use QR codes, get vaccinated and observe social distancing.
"We can see the consequences of getting this wrong. We don't want a lockdown in South Australia," the premier said.
Amid reports of panic buying across SA supermarkets, the premier said there was no need for such action.
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Millions of Queenslanders are in lockdown again amid fears a hospital worker from Brisbane may have spread the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 to north Queensland.
The premier has expressed disbelief after learning the young woman was not vaccinated but continued to work shifts as a concierge stationed just outside the coronavirus ward of Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane.
The 19-year-old tested positive on Monday but is believed to have been infectious in the community for about 10 days, and in that time worked two shifts at the hospital and went on a family holiday to Townsville.
Late on Tuesday, authorities confirmed she has the Delta variant, which is twice as contagious as the original virus and can be spread through fleeting contact that lasts just seconds.
One of her close friends and two of her family members are also now ill, and awaiting test results. The concierge also had contact with three other hospital workers.
Large swathes of the state are now under a snap three-day lockdown until 6pm on Friday, when it will be reviewed.
But given how contagious the Delta variant is, how long the worker was freely moving around Brisbane and north Queensland, there is a very real risk she has infected others in both locations.
The lockdown covers Townsville, nearby Magnetic and Palm islands, and all 11 local government areas in the state's southeast corner.
Every single one of Magnetic Island's 2500 residents has been told to get tested, and authorities have included Palm Island given it has a large Indigenous population that would be more vulnerable to the virus.
Townsville exposure sites include the airport, the city's popular Sunday markets, the ferry to Magnetic Island, and the entirety of the island.
Virgin Australia flight 369 from Brisbane to Townsville on Thursday, June 24, is also an exposure site along with the family's return flight, Virgin Australia, 374, on Sunday, June 27.
In Brisbane exposure sites include the hospital where the woman worked, Brisbane airport, a Woolworths at Sandgate, where the woman lives, and a local gym.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promised an investigation into why the hospital worker was not vaccinated, and expressed exacerbation that unprotected staff continue to show up for work in high-risk environments.
"She should have been vaccinated, she was not. So the health minister will be overseeing that issue in detail," she told reporters. "I am absolutely furious about this."
The concierge was one of two cases of community transmission reported on Tuesday. The second was another miner who returned to Queensland from a Northern Territory mine where Delta has also been circulating.
But Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young considers him low risk because he's been isolating since very soon after returning to his home at Ipswich, west of Brisbane.
He is the second miner among a group of 170 who returned to Queensland from the mine. All are in isolation and are being closely monitored.
The premier acknowledged the hard, fast lockdown would cause pain but did not offer any new support measures for businesses who'll lose days of trading, despite pressure from the Opposition and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
She repeated demands for the federal government to dramatically slash overseas arrivals, including returning Australians, until vaccination rates are vastly higher in Queensland.
Meanwhile, Queenslanders aged under 60 have been told to stick with the Pfizer vaccine, after the prime minister declared all Australians, no matter their age, would be able to get AstraZeneca at GP clinics under an indemnity scheme.
The partial lockdown covers residents of Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan City, Moreton Bay, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, the Scenic Rim, the Gold Coast, Townsville, Magnetic Island and nearby Palm Island.
Residents in those areas will only be allowed to leave home to shop for essential items, exercise, or receive or give medical care.
Masks remain mandatory and other restrictions have also been tightened including limiting funerals to 20 people, and weddings to 10 people, including the celebrant and couple.
As cases grow elsewhere Queensland will declare Perth and Peel in Western Australia and Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield in the Northern Territory as hotspots from 1am on Wednesday.
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Less than a week after being sworn in as deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has had a run-in with the law after he was dobbed in for not wearing a face mask.
Crime Stoppers was alerted by a member of the public in the National leader's home town of Armidale on Monday morning after he was spotted without a face mask while paying for petrol after filling up at the bowser.
Police say they checked the service station's CCTV and issued a $200 fine to a 54-year-old man for breaching an order under the NSW Public Health Act.
Mr Joyce on Tuesday told Sky News he'd simply forgotten to put a mask on.
"I was on my way to the airport, forgot about putting on the mask, bang 200 bucks," he said.
"(I) accept it, take it on the chin."
"We've all got to do the right thing, including politicians."
State Emergency Operations Controller, Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said it was just one of 34 COVID-19 infringement notices issued on Monday - with 16 of them infringements for failing to wear a fitted face covering.
"Police were alerted to that. They took some action. That person was apologetic and co-operative with police and an infringement notice was issued," he told reporters on Tuesday.
On the NSW mid north coast, a couple is facing assault charges after they allegedly started a fight after refusing to check in to a restaurant on Monday evening.
The 43-year-old man and 27-year-old woman were told they would have to leave the Forster restaurant if they didn't sign in using the QR code.
The man punched the owner, leaving him with facial injuries and a suspected broken nose, police say.
The women allegedly bit a bystander who tried to intervene. He has bruising and bleeding to his bicep.
Meanwhile, a travel company copped a $5000 fine for taking three busloads of tourists to the Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo.
At least 76 of the 128 people on board the buses were not permitted to be outside Greater Sydney, police say.
Staff at the zoo refused to let the visitors off the bus and called the police.
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Millions of Queenslanders have been plunged into another snap lockdown amid fears a holidaying hospital worker may have spread COVID-19 throughout Brisbane and north Queensland.
The premier has expressed disbelief after learning the young woman was not vaccinated but continued to work shifts as a concierge stationed just outside Prince Charles Hospital's coronavirus ward.
The 19-year-old tested positive on Monday after she and her family left their home at Sandgate in Brisbane and flew to Townsville, visiting the city's Sunday markets, numerous dining venues, and Magnetic Island.
She was also out and about in Brisbane before heading north for the family holiday, with Brisbane airport and a Woolworths at Sandgate among the exposure venues.
Magnetic Island, nearby Palm Island, Townsville, and Queensland's entire southeast corner are now subject to a three-day lockdown from 6pm Tuesday to 6pm on Friday, when it will be reviewed.
The concierge was one of two cases of community transmission reported on Tuesday.
The second was another miner who returned to Queensland from a Northern Territory mine where the highly contagious Delta strain has been circulating.
But Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young considers him low risk because he's been isolating since very soon after returning to his home at Ipswich, west of Brisbane.
He is the second miner among a group of 170 who returned to Queensland from the mine. All are in isolation and are being closely monitored.
Dr Young is anxiously waiting on genomic sequencing that will reveal if the hospital concierge also has the Delta strain.
One of her close friends and two of her family members are also ill now and are awaiting test results. The concierge also had contact with three other hospital workers.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promised an investigation and expressed exacerbation that unvaccinated staff continue to show up for work in high-risk environments.
"She should have been vaccinated, she was not. So the health minister will be overseeing that issue in detail," she told reporters. "I am absolutely furious about this."
The premier said a hard, fast lockdown was the only way contact tracers would have time to catch up with the virus.
She acknowledged it would cause pain in the community but did not offer any new support measures for businesses who'll lose days of trading, despite pressure from the Opposition and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland.
But she did repeat demands for the federal government to dramatically slash overseas arrivals, including returning Australians, until vaccination rates are vastly higher.
Ms Palaszczuk says more outbreaks are inevitable because the hotel quarantine system is not up to the task of containing imported variants.
The premier and Dr Young also advised Queenslanders aged under 60 to stick with the Pfizer vaccine, after the prime minister declared all Australians, no matter their age, would be able to get AstraZeneca at GP clinics under an indemnity scheme.
Queensland's partial lockdown covers residents of Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan City, Moreton Bay, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, the Scenic Rim, the Gold Coast, Townsville, Magnetic Island and nearby Palm Island.
Residents in those areas will only be allowed to leave home to shop for essential items, exercise, or receive or give medical care.
Masks remain mandatory and other restrictions have also been tightened including limiting funerals to 20 people, and weddings to 10 people, including the celebrant and couple.
As cases grow elsewhere Queensland will declare Perth and Peel in Western Australia and Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield in the Northern Territory as hotspots from 1am on Wednesday.
© AAP 2021
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