Covid Qld: Next wave ‘worst ever’, hospital admissions may top 1000

Vaccination or prior infection will not stop the next Covid-19 sub-variant, with hospital admissions tipped to hit 1000 in Queensland’s biggest wave yet. HEALTH ADVICE

Queenslanders are being warned to brace for the state’s worst ever Covid-19 wave, with the latest sub-variant evading the immunity built up in the vaccinated and those who have already caught the virus.

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard has urged Queenslanders to be prepared as he warned hospitalisation rates were expected to be at least as bad as those during the first peak in January.

But public health measures such as mask mandates won’t be returning, with Dr Gerrard declaring Queenslanders needed to take personal responsibility and that further legal mandates would be divisive.

The latest wave – which is Queensland’s third – is now expected to peak by the end of July or early August, with hospitalisation rates to potentially hit 1000.

Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard yesterday. Picture: Tertius Pickard/NCA NewsWire

Some elective surgery will “almost certainly” be delayed while extra bed capacity is still being provided in private hospitals.

More than 2000 frontline health staff are currently furloughed with Covid-19 or influenza.

And 705 people are being treated in hospital for Covid-19 – a jump of 140 per cent in a month.

Dr Gerrard said everyone would know someone in coming weeks who had the new subvariant.

“It’s important for you to prepare now,” he said.

“The good news is that up to date vaccination will protect you against severe disease and hospitalisation, and if you are up to date the illness that you will get with this virus is likely to be mild.”

But while the elderly or immunocompromised have been encouraged to wear masks in crowded areas until at least the end of August, Dr Gerrard said authorities would not be reinstating any new mandates.

“I do not believe we’ll be heading back towards mask mandates,” he said.

“These waves are likely to continue off and on every few months for some time to come, it could be years.

“If we keep implementing legal mandates every three months and then withdrawing them, I think that is just divisive and it’s not helpful and I think people will not follow them.

“I am not at all in favour of mask mandates at this stage.”

Dr Gerrard said the future was not “public health measures and public health mandates.”

“It’s personal responsibility,” he said.

People wearing masks in Brisbane City yesterday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

More than 5800 new cases were recorded in Queensland on Wednesday.

Eighteen people were being treated in ICU while a further four deaths were recorded.

Authorities also revealed 40 people had died after contracting influenza since the beginning of the year.

Dr Gerrard said the increase in Covid-19 cases was due to the BA.4 and 5 subvariants which were more dominant in Queensland.

But while he warned health staff would be under pressure in coming weeks, he insisted hospitals would cope.

“They (hospitals) will know what to do,” he said.

“But there will be pressure on them, there’s no way around this.”

Dr Gerrard revealed that just under 50 per cent of people aged over 65 – who were the most likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19 – were up to date with their vaccinations.

He described that as very disturbing.

“The vast majority of people currently in our hospitals with Covid-19 are over the age of 65 and are not up to date with their vaccination,” he said.

“So I’m concerned that this message is not getting through.”

He said people over the age of 65 with underlying medical conditions might be eligible to take one of the two medicines currently available to treat Covid-19.

These are widely available in Queensland.

Dr Gerrard said elective surgery would almost certainly be delayed.

“We have never experienced anything like this, to have such a large number of beds occupied in a pandemic on top of influenza, this has not happened in my lifetime,” he said.

He said Queensland was likely at its influenza peak but experts didn’t know how much longer it would last.

More than 700,000 Queenslanders are now vaccinated against the flu.

The flu vaccine is free until July 17.

People wearing masks in Brisbane City yesterday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

HEALTH ADVICE

Masks – still required in the following settings:

– Healthcare, residential aged care, disability accommodation, prisons/detention centres

– Public transport, including on platforms and at stops

– Taxis, rideshares, or commercial shuttles – including taxi ranks and pick-up areas

– On planes

You need to also wear a mask when you leave your home or accommodation if:

– Your temperature is equal to or higher than 37.5 degrees

– You have Covid-19 symptoms

– You’re awaiting a Covid-19 PCR test result

– You’re Covid-19 positive, a close contact, or an international traveller (in line with other public health directions)

Masks are not required in schools, but schools may have their own policies.

Masks are recommended if you cannot socially distance, but they are not required.

If you have tested positive for Covid-19, you need to:

– Stay at home – you can only leave to go to hospital for urgent care, going to a birthing suite (with approval), escaping harm or risk (including sexual and family violence), or if you face an emergency.

– Monitor your symptoms and call the National coronavirus helpline if you need assistance (1800 020 080).

– Stay away from others, including limiting visitors to essential persons.

– Wear a mask if you must interact with anyone else.

You can leave isolation after testing positive when:

– You have isolated for seven days following your positive test.

– You no longer have a runny nose, a sore throat, a fever, or a cough that is as bad or getting worse.

– If someone else in your house tests positive, you can still finish your isolation on day seven.

– For the seven days after your isolation ends, you must wear a mask when outside the home, except when outdoors and physically distanced from others.

Like masks, social distancing is encouraged but not required in crowded spaces.

Vaccinations:

– If you have already had Covid-19, you should wait three months before getting vaccinated.

– You man experience some side-effects including headaches, muscle pain, or fever.

Those over 65 are urged to get a fourth booster shot; those between 5 and 65 are eligible for three.

Originally published as Covid Qld: Next wave ‘worst ever’, hospital admissions may top 1000