Anthony Albanese calls emergency meeting of national cabinet amid worsening Covid wave

The PM has called an emergency meeting of national cabinet amid a worsening Omicron wave, with more than 150 Queensland nursing homes battling outbreaks.

An emergency meeting of national cabinet will be held on Monday amid a worsening Covid-19 wave, fulfilling calls from Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Confirmation of the snap meeting from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office comes as Ms Palaszczuk joined a chorus of leaders putting ­pressure on the federal government to consider reinstating Covid-19 support payments.

Latest data on Friday revealed Queensland has recorded 6,336 new Covid cases and 20 deaths in the past 24 hours.

There are currently 45,824 active cases in Queensland with 907 people currently receiving hospital care including 14 in ICU.

92.8 per cent of Queenslanders aged 16 years have received at least two doses of a Covid vaccine.

The Covid-19 wave is also hitting aged-care facilities, with 161 homes in Queensland ­battling active outbreaks, with the sector warning workforce shortages as bad as January were a concern.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called an emergency meeting of national cabinet. Picture: Dan Peled

Pressure has been mounting on the federal government to reinstate the $750-a-week ­pandemic leave payment once afforded to those who were forced to isolate, but had no access to sick days, amid fears millions of people will contract Covid-19 in coming weeks.

The program, which cost $1.9bn to the budget bottom line, ended on June 30.

A spokesman for Ms Palaszczuk confirmed that the “Premier believes this is something the federal government should consider”.

This was a turnaround from comments she made on the Today Show, where she said workers could “cop seven days” without pay and the issue was if the virus was “going to keep reoccurring in people”.

Annastacia Palaszczuk is calling for the pandemic leave payment to be reinstated. Picture: Tertius Pickard

The Premier’s office also said the issue of the payment could be a topic “discussed at a meeting of national cabinet”, in a potential reference to Ms ­Palaszczuk’s calls for an emergency meeting to deal with the current wave – a request that until late on Thursday had been ignored. But the Prime Minister’s office has since confirmed an urgent meeting of national cabinet will be convened on Monday morning.

NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns and Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff had earlier in the day called for the government to reinstate the payment, while Labor MP Mike Freelander broke ranks, asking the government to reconsider.

Aged care Minister Anika Wells, speaking in Brisbane on Thursday, said axing the payment was a “decision taken by the previous government that kicked in on our watch”.

Ms Wells released the government’s aged-care Covid-19 “winter plan”, with vaccination a key pillar in keeping vulnerable residents safe through the wave.

Originally published as Anthony Albanese calls emergency meeting of national cabinet amid worsening Covid wave