Covid outbreak forces Grand Final change

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced six new locally acquired cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours and revealed some areas of the state are going back to stage two restrictions for the next fortnight. The areas include: Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Gold Coast, Townsville, Logan and Palm Island.Watch Fox League’s massive line-up of Grand Final week coverage on Kayo including live pre-game, half-time and post-game coverage with full analysis from the best team in the business. New to Kayo? Start your free trial >The Grand Final between Penrith and South Sydney is scheduled to take place at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium for the first time ever on Sunday night and while the Premier didn’t specifically mention the game at her press conference on Thursday, the new restrictions mean crowd capacity will be cut to 75 per cent.Suncorp Stadium has a capacity of 52,500 and more than 50,000 tickets have already been sold for the match, meaning roughly 12,000 fans will need to hand back their tickets. NRL reporter Danny Weidler revealed on Twitter the NRL “will adopt a ‘last in first out’ policy” when it comes to deciding who will still be allowed to attend the Grand Final.NRL Grand FinalA snap lockdown has been avoided but as part of the state’s restrictions, no more than 30 people will be allowed in homes and there’s a cap of 100 attendees at wedding and funerals. The development also means a one person per four square metres cap in restaurants and cafes and a requirement for those at hospitality venues to remain seated while eating and drinking.In addition to the crowd hit, a positive case in Townsville means the NRL’s back-up plan has been affected too. The league had earmarked Townsville as its “Plan B” should a Covid-19 outbreak in Brisbane spark a lockdown that would prevent supporters from attending the match.But should that eventuate, Townsville may no longer be a viable option because a pilot was infectious when he arrived in the city on September 21.Queensland authorities are racing to stop the virus from spreading from a truckie who failed to check in to eateries and hotels in the inner city for over a week, while a Brisbane woman is understood to have tested positive to Covid late on Wednesday night after visiting a northern NSW hotspot.Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young has refrained from plunging the region into its sixth snap lockdown, despite more active cases and the number of exposure sites increasing within days. Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au