Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced a three-day snap lockdown for parts of the state after an outbreak grew by another two community cases on Monday.
The lockdown will commence at 6pm on Tuesday night (local time) and is scheduled to finish 72 hours later, at 6pm on Friday. Restrictions will be in place for South East Queensland, Townsville, Palm Island and Magnetic Island.
The only reasons to leave during this period will be to attend essential education or work that cannot be done at home; to obtain health care services, including vaccines; provide care or support for a vulnerable family member; do essential shopping; or exercise.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young says it's not yet clear where one of the new local cases - a 19-year-old casual clerical worker from the Prince Charles Hospital - was infected.
It's emerged she did not get vaccinated despite a health directive to do so, and visited multiple sites while infectious - including the hospital she works at, a supermarket, a gym, two flights, and a market.
Palaszczuk says she's "absolutely furious".
"We need to make sure that we are getting our population vaccinated, right across the state."
Palaszczuk used the press conference to demand Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison reduce the number of overseas arrivals allowed into the country.
"Hotel quarantine is just not the answer. We need a massive reduction in overseas arrivals because the overseas arrivals are bringing in these contagious strains. We need to get on top of this," Ms Palaszczuk says.
"We have seen what is happening in Sydney, in WA, in the NT and I am just urging the Prime Minister... Lower the caps to reduce the risk.
"The reason why: we are having lockdowns in major cities because overseas arrivals are bringing the virus here. They are going into hotels and all of our staff are having to deal with it. The risk is real and we need to contain the virus. We need to protect Australia."
The announcement comes just 30 minutes after New South Wales health officials revealed a COVID-19 outbreak there had expanded by another 19 community cases in the last day.
NSW Health on Tuesday said 17 new infections linked to previously confirmed reported cases were recorded to 8pm (local time) on Monday, with the remaining two under investigation.
The new cases take the number of locally acquired infections detected in the state to 149 since June 16, as Greater Sydney enters its third full day of lockdown. Of those, all but eight are linked to the Bondi cluster.
The number of people who contracted COVID-19 at a West Hoxton birthday party has grown to 27, with seven more infections recorded on Monday. NSW Health now understands more than 40 people attended the party.
Among the 19 new cases is a student at Rose Bay Secondary School and three new cases linked to Great Ocean Foods in Marrickville.
The two unlinked cases are an after-school care worker from Bellevue Hill Public School and a man in his 40s from Sydney's south-west, who has been working in the eastern suburbs.
Earlier on Tuesday, Greater Darwin extended its lockdown for another 72 hours on Tuesday, following the emergence of community COVID-19 cases in the Northern Territory last week.
