Christmas in isolation fears with cases tipped to grow

Some Queenslanders still face spending the festive season in isolation, with Covid-19 exposure sites growing daily and warnings of big case numbers on the horizon.

Queenslanders could spend the festive season in isolation, with warnings a significant outbreak of Covid-19 could come within weeks as southern states battle to contain the highly contagious Omicron variant.

But authorities are holding their nerve and insist the state will stay open despite NSW recording 1360 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday and predicting daily numbers could reach 25,000.

Hundreds of Queenslanders could avoid Christmas in quarantine if the state government fast tracks plans to slash quarantine requirements for close contacts.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is urging the state to ease its strict 14-day isolation requirements for close Covid contacts now, moving with the medical advice in southern states which have halved the period for fully vaccinated people.

People showing their vaccination status at arrivals at Brisbane’s domestic airport on Wednesday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

The push from the Prime Minister comes as Queensland health authorities late Wednesday added new close contact exposure sites.

Anyone who was at the Espresso Hut at Eight Mile Plains between 6.35am and 7.35am on Sunday December 12 will have to home quarantine until Boxing Day. While those who visited Anytime Fitness at Bowen Hills between 7.20-7.55am on Tuesday December 14 will have to isolate until December 28.

And another flight from Newcastle has been added as a close contact exposure site. Anyone from rows 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 on flight QF2426 from Newcastle to Brisbane on Monday December 13 is now considered a close contact and needs to quarantine for the next 14 days.

Queensland is not planning on reducing its isolation period for close contacts to seven days, with a test on day five, until January 1.

“Our medical advice and what we’re seeing in other states and territories means that we can add a bit more,” Mr Morrison said.

“Let’s not forget, in New South Wales and Victoria, it’s seven days with testing. So I would encourage them to take that up.”

In a sign of the rapidly evolving approach to the virus, Queensland Health reversed its decision to require two planeloads of passengers to quarantine after a person infected – thought to be with Omicron – flew to Brisbane and then Townsville from Newcastle.

Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said there would be a big rise in case numbers sooner than people were expecting. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Another person is also thought to have spent a day in South Brisbane while infectious with the new variant.

Queensland chief health officer John Gerrard warned Queenslanders to brace for significant case numbers quicker than expected – increasing the risk people will be forced into isolation over the festive season.

“I think it’s probably we’re talking more in the weeks than the months for what we’re seeing in New South Wales and in the United Kingdom, it’s very much faster than and much more contagious than what we’ve seen previously with Delta,” he said of Omicron.

“We will be seeing that in the coming days and weeks and I think we can reasonably expect that Omicron will spread in Queensland.”

Dr Gerrard said despite the threat of the highly infectious variant, locking down to eliminate the risk was “no longer possible”.

“As time goes forward we have to have some degree of risk appetite, we can’t just completely lock down and eliminate all risk, that’s no longer possible,” he said.

“This is exactly what we expected … and it will continue and these (case) numbers will increase in coming days and weeks.”

Authorities are monitoring the significant increase in Omicron cases linked to a Newcastle nightclub, but Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said there was “no recommendation at this stage” to impose additional restrictions on people travelling from the region.

People getting tested for Covid -19 in Brisbane as the number of exposure sites grow. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“We’ll continue to monitor, I will continue to watch what New South Wales is doing and whether they change any of their settings as well,” she said.

“The public health unit and the chief health officer watch this every minute, not just every hour and every day, every minute.

“We have to look at all scenarios but we have not made any changes to our plan.”

Immunisation Coalition Professor Robert Booy said “I’m not a modeller but I’m a common sense person”.

“Modelling often gives a broad range of outcomes and only the worst or most severe gets reported,” he said.

“I would be most surprised by 25,000 cases in a single day – I think that’s a gross exaggeration.

“This is reflective of modelling not being accurate rather than the virus being a problem.”

He said the range of outcomes that modelling might predict could be “anywhere between 2500 and 25,000 cases”. Professor Booy said while Queensland’s “sharp rise” would not be concerning, he said the “concern is how many end up in hospital and how many get deadly sick”.

“The modelling needs to tell us what the most likely estimate of hospitalisations is, not the number of cases,” he said.

Professor Booy expected an increase in the number of close and casual contacts over the Christmas period.

“I think people need to continue to show common sense and do simple things well – we don’t need to have huge lockdowns, but what we need to have is common sense,” he said. “These simple measures won’t stop transmission but they can rescue it and keep more people out of hospital.”