17 April 2020: COVID-19 updates #ipswichtogether

4.00pm. Have a safe and happy weekend at home

That’s all from the Ipswich First team today. Scroll down to read the latest COVID-19 updates.

We’ll bring you more local information in our daily COVID-19 blog on Ipswich First next week, as well as the latest figures on the number of cases tomorrow morning.

Check for your inbox tomorrow for the latest local news stories in Saturday’s edition of Ipswich First. If you’re not already subscribed, click here to sign up.

3.30pm. A brew for tough times

Springfield’s Ballistic brewery has launched a new beer to help people through the COVID-19 crisis.

Brewunity Pale Ale will be available online through the Ballistic web shop and available for takeaway at Ballistic Springfield.

Ballistic Beer Co. CEO David Kitchen said Ballistic wanted to give something back to the community.

“The name Brewunity means we are brewing beer for our community, we know people are going to be watching their spending over the coming months and we want to make it easy and affordable for our customers to continue to enjoy great beer in these tough times”, Mr Kitchen said.

“Our customers have been wonderful with their support for us and now we want to give something back to them.”

Read more here: New Ballistic beer Brewunity for the community

3.00pm. School transport services running next week

School bus services will resume from Monday 20 April to transport children of essential workers and vulnerable children to school.

Parents should ensure their child has a go card with enough travel credit as the public transport network is currently operating cashless.

Visit translink.com.au or call 13 12 30 for more details or contact your service operator directly.

2.35pm. Stay informed in your language

If someone you know speaks a language other than English, you can help them access print resources about COVID-19 on the Australian Health website in dozens of languages, including Farsi, Korean, Greek and Vietnamese.

You’ll find fact sheets, guidelines and other publications on the website. 

You can also visit the Australian Health YouTube channel to view SBS’s COVID-19 video in various languages. 

1.45pm. Keep active at home

It’s important for our physical and mental health to keep our bodies moving while staying home. 

Ipswich City Council has produced a series of Active at Home videos, which will guide you through a number of fitness classes, from abs or lower body workouts to yoga and pilates. 

See the full Active at Home series here and grab yourself a mat or a towel and a water bottle and get started. 

Here’s a quick abs workout:

1pm. Are you ready for at home learning?

There’s a lot of change coming with the new school term, and it’s not just affecting school students. Parents are also feeling the pressure as they get ready to support their children to learn from home.

Thankfully, Education Queensland has a few tips to help make the transition to home learning easier.

1. Treat the first week as a ‘starting school’ week

Not everything will go to plan, and it might take a while to work out how to find and use the right resources and understand what’s best for you and your child. The ‘how to’ will come first, and then the learning.

2. Aim for two to three hours of learning

Remember that your child’s teacher usually divides their attention between up to 28 students who all work at different paces and need different levels of support. At home, two to three hours of learning each day will usually be plenty. Try using a range of other activities to keep children engaged and stimulated without becoming overwhelmed.

3. Routines can help, but keep them flexible

Routines and consistency can be a source of comfort for parents and children alike, but keep in mind that your routine doesn’t have to be the same as a school routine. If you use a timetable at home, make sure it’s manageable for everyone and flexible enough that you can adapt it as you learn what works.

4. Encourage children to take control of their learning

Home-based learning presents an opportunity for students to find out more about themselves as learners and to become more confident in self-directing their learning. If your child is finding a task difficult, make suggestions and answer questions, but try to let them figure things out for themselves as much as possible.

5. Remember this is new for teachers as well

This is a team effort. So, if you’re unsure about something, let your child’s teacher know using the preferred contact time and method that they will advise you of.

Further information about supporting your child, maintaining healthy learning routines and setting up a learning space at home can be found on the learning@home—Wellbeing of students page.

More information is available here: What you need to know about remote learning in Queensland schools for term two

12.25pm. Reasons you’re allowed to leave your house

11.55am. What’s for lunch?

While COVID-19 has forced cafes, pubs and restaurants to make some major adjustments, most remain open and are serving takeaway food. 

It’s been non-stop in recent days for the Marburg Pub, which has continued to serve up customer favourites, including beer battered Barra, Thai green chicken curry and their current Angus rib fillet steak special, which is served with mash and veg or chips and salad.

You can order lunch or dinner by calling 54644230 or placing your order to Marburg Pub on Facebook messenger.

Here’s some other great options to help support local business: Great Ipswich takeway food options.

11.30am. Surat Gas Project to help Queensland’s economic recovery from COVID-19

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Friday announced Arrow Energy’s $10 billion Surat Gas Project in southern Queensland.

The Premier said the project would mark another milestone in Queensland’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

“We have made very encouraging progress in managing the health impacts of this pandemic,” the Premier said.

“But it’s projects like this – and the more than 1,000 jobs it will generate – that will help us to our economic recovery.”

Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham welcomed Arrow Energy’s decision to move ahead on the first stage of the project between Dalby and Wandoan.

“The first phase will create 200-plus construction jobs, which will start almost immediately, as well as millions of dollars in business opportunities for local suppliers,” he said..

“The project, over all phases, will create up to 800 construction jobs and 200 permanent, operations jobs – Queensland’s largest gas project to start since 2011.”

Construction is expected to start later this year with first gas forecast to flow from 2021.

Read more here: Major projects mark COVID-19 recovery

10.50am. Lions’ stadium on target despite COVID-19

The Brisbane Lions have confirmed their new community arena in Springfield Central, dubbed The Reserve, is on target despite coronavirus concerns.

Funding for The Reserve has been deeded into a special project account that is separate from the Brisbane Lions’ football operations to ensure that the project will proceed as planned while the AFL community wades through a period of uncertainty due to COVID-19. 

Read the full story here: Brisbane Lions’ Springfield stadium will proceed as planned

10.20am. Managing health conditions during COVID-19

There are lots of ways you can manage a chronic health condition while staying safe from viruses like the flu and COVID-19.

In fact, if you or someone you love has a chronic health condition, it’s more important than ever to keep seeing a doctor or outpatient specialist.

Here’s a few ways you can do it:

1. Ask your GP or outpatient specialist whether your next appointment can be via telehealth – it’s subsidised by Medicare.
2. Get your PBS medications delivered to your door – delivery is free.
3. Keep the flu at bay by getting vaccinated – it’s free for kids under five and those over 65.

Find out how to access these services here.

9.55am. I spy with my little eye…

Ipswich Libraries’ regular School Holiday Eye Spy Hunt is still on this year – just online.

Click the link below to select your child’s age group and begin the hunt.

There’s also plenty of other Ipswich Libraries digital resources to keep minds entertained while at home, including virtual Story Time sessions, e-books, audio books, games, course and movies or TV shows to stream.

9.00am. Supporting the community

The team at the Commercial Hotel Redbank have put their heads together to find a way to bring the Ipswich community a bit closer together, while keeping isolated.

Owner Gerry Murphy said they thought they could make up batches of soup for those in need.

“We do things a bit differently to bigger pubs,” he said.

“We wanted to support the community and we were worried people might be too scared to go out and buy groceries, so we thought we would try making soup.

“We have been going for a couple of weeks now, we gave away 500 soups last week and 380 so far this week.”

Mr Murphy wanted to thank the Salvation Army who have been dropping off bread and vegetables to help keep them going.

They also had some of their own customers, Dave and Sumie Rogers, drop off a bag of potatoes and pumpkins from their own vege patch.

The Commercial Hotel Redbank is open seven days a week serving a full menu for lunch and dinner.

They also deliver from their bottle shop or you can call ahead for food and drink orders and pick up.

8.35am. Tips on looking after yourself in isolation

Staying at home and not seeing friends and family in person is probably a little different to what you’re used to.

It’s important to do activities that will help you stay mentally healthy and well during this period. Here are four ways to look after yourself at home:

• Spend time doing activities that are good for your well-being. Read a book or try a virtual workout.
• Maintain a healthy routine. Eat well, aim for a good night’s sleep and plan regular catch ups via the phone, email or video chat.
• Seek accurate information.
• Keep up the good hygiene. Even at home, you should wash hands often and thoroughly.

8am. Friday, 17 April 2020. No new cases in West Moreton

West Moreton Health has had no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of April.

The region’s confirmed cases have stayed at 37.

Of those, 17 people have recovered, while 20 are still active cases.

Queensland has five new confirmed cases of COVID-19 raising the state total to 1001.

The total cases from 15 April 2020 were revised down from 999 to 996.

There are now 554 active cases with 442 recoveries and five deaths state-wide.

Contact tracing is underway for the five new cases.

Queensland Health will notify the community if any other public health alerts are required.

The majority of cases are from patients who have travelled overseas, or have had direct contact with a confirmed case who had travelled overseas.

The number of confirmed cases we see each day is expected to vary as Queensland Health continue to respond to the COVID-19 situation across the state.

“We want everyone to know they can play their part to protect themselves and the more vulnerable in our community,” a spokesperson said.

“Please follow the recommended advice from us and our federal counterparts in regards to social distancing, public gatherings and general wellbeing.

“Critically, make sure you are practising good hygiene and staying home, especially if you’re sick.

“Washing your hands properly and often is the gold standard of health advice that can help prevent viruses from entering your body.”

A person will generally be tested if they have a fever (or history of fever) or acute respiratory symptoms, and, in the last 14 days:

• they were a close contact or a household contact of a confirmed case
• they had been overseas, including on a cruise.

Testing may also be done for people who have a fever (or history of fever) or acute respiratory symptoms, AND:

• work in vulnerable settings such as healthcare, aged or residential care, military, a school or child care, correction facilities, detention centres and boarding schools.
• live in Brisbane, Gold Coast or Cairns
• live in or travelled from a COVID-19 hotspot
• live in or travelled from another state
• live in a First Nations community.

Queensland Health is urging anyone who meets this criteria for testing, to contact a doctor immediately.

Before your appointment, please call ahead and advise of your symptoms and recent travel they can prepare for your visit.