Victorian travel, footy chaos as Queensland announces Brisbane lockdown

Victoria is not ruling out declaring Brisbane a red zone after a snap lockdown put Easter travel plans in jeopardy.

Victoria has not ruled out upgrading Brisbane to a “red zone” after the city was plunged back into lockdown.

Transport Infrastructure minister Jacinta Allan said on Monday the state government was awaiting further advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.

Ms Allan said subject to that advice border and travel rules could be updated.

“We will await further health advice to come through following that meeting and if there are any further updates to be made today then we will make them,” she said.

“However the advice for all Victorians travelling anywhere around the country remains the same, is that they should check the website, check the travel information, understand the travel permit system, because as we’ve seen with this virus in 2020 and into 2021, events can move quickly, our circumstances can change rapidly as we’ve seen in the last day or so in Queensland around Brisbane.”

Victorian holiday-makers and Pies fans going north for the Brisbane clash have been plunged into uncertainty after Queensland announced a snap lockdown on Monday.

The northern state will go into a three-day snap lockdown beginning 5pm after four new local cases were reported.

Residents will only be allowed to leave their house for four essential reasons: Exercise with family groups; shopping for essentials; healthcare and caring; and work and school if they can’t be done from home.

Masks will be mandatory in all public indoor settings.

The AFL’s earlier plans to forge ahead with the Brisbane-Collingwood contest at the Gabba have also been plunged into chaos.

The Lions were training in Port Melbourne on Monday morning, with football boss Danny Daly stating the club had been hopeful of returning to Queensland Monday afternoon.

Lions players were on Sunday stranded in Melbourne, unable to fly north, as the AFL waited for more information from health officials.

The league will have to consider whether the Lions remain in Melbourne and play at Marvel Stadium or the MCG.

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RETURNED VICTORIANS TEST NEGATIVE

Three Victorians are isolating in hotel quarantine after being deemed close contacts, having visited one of the Redcliffe exposure sites.

Two of the trio — who travelled to Queensland together, before returning on March 22 — have tested negative, and the result of the third was still pending as of Monday morning.

Their secondary contacts are also isolating.

Queensland health authorities earlier believed they had found the missing link between a doctor earlier in March and the recent cases, after the brother of a 26-year-old Stafford man who tested positive to the highly infectious British strain on Thursday night.

Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said the brother was infectious “a little while ago” and had since recovered from the virus.

“He is probably the person responsible for the transmission,” she said.

About 21,000 people who have travelled from Brisbane to Victoria since March 12 have been contacted.

Queensland health officials were on Sunday forced into an embarrassing backtrack after incorrectly claiming a Brisbane man who tested positive for COVID-19 had hosted 25 people at his home for a party while awaiting test results.

Queensland police said the reports of a large gathering were inaccurate, confirming there were only five people at the home, including mostly residents.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath defended the mistake, claiming the man told health officials there were 25 people at his home.

“Whether it was a misunderstanding at the time or what it was, I cannot tell you,” she said.

One COVID-19 case was recorded in hotel quarantine in Victoria overnight, with an international flight crew member testing positive.

There were no community transmission cases recorded among the 13,963 people who received their tests on Sunday.