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Clarification: This afternoon it was confirmed that National Cabinet agreed to a nationwide stance on Greater Brisbane as a COVID-19 hotspot, with corresponding restrictions and quarantine or isolation requirements in place. However, the timing of the implementation of these new measures varies across different states and territories.
NSW Acting Premier John Barilaro says the state government will not be taking a "knee jerk reaction" to recent COVID-19 developments in Queensland, but those who have been in the Sunshine State's hotspots since 2 January will need to self-isolate.
From 6pm tonight Queensland's local government areas (LGAs) of Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands and Logan will go into a three-day lockdown after a hotel quarantine cleaner tested positive to the highly contagious UK strain of COVID-19.
Anyone who has been in these areas since 12:01am on the cut-off date and is in or going to NSW will need to self-isolate.
"We won't be locking down the border, but we are going to be applying the same level of restrictions to those that are either coming or are here in New South Wales that have come from those areas," the Acting Premier said.
NSW recorded 11 new cases of the virus overnight of which four were locally acquired, while a positive sewage detection has also occurred at a treatment plant in Ulladulla.
It is not yet clear whether that detection relates to community transmission or from individuals who have since left the plant's catchment area, but the plant is around 50km south of Huskisson in Jervis Bay where a health alert was issued for a venue recently.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed today that six return travellers in hotel quarantine have tested positive to the UK strain of COVID-19 since 30 November, four of whom have been successfully managed and discharged after clinical assessments showed they were no longer infectious.
The two other cases with the UK strain will remain in what's known as 'special health accommodation' (SHA) until they are no longer infectious.
In addition, a preliminary test that was received last night showed a group of four travellers in the SHA who are positive to the new COVID variant from South Africa, but further testing is underway to confirm the results.
"But as a precaution, the 16 people that were accompanying on that flight, have as a precaution moved to the SHA, and that is because there are concerns that the South African strain does share the similar mutation from the UK that may be associated with increased transmissibility," Dr Chant said.
Updated at 11:47am AEDT on 8 January 2021.
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