Covid Qld: Daily media updates of case numbers may be scrapped
Queensland is close to scrapping its daily Covid-19 briefings as the state continues out the other side of the Omicron wave.
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Queensland will consider whether Covid-19 case numbers need to be announced at daily media conferences as the state continues to come out the other side of the Omicron wave.
The Sunshine State recorded 3750 cases yesterday, while six people infected with the virus lost their lives.
The number of people in the state’s hospitals also continues to fall, with 484 in public hospitals and 30 in private facilities. A total of 40 people are in intensive care.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the state was also getting close to scrapping its daily briefings.
“We’re not quite yet there yet, but I think we’re very close if we continue to see this trend happening for the next few days,” Ms D’Ath said.
She said the briefings would be replaced by an update posted online.
The return to a new normal in the state comes as the Gold Coast Airport welcomed its first international flight arrival in 692 days.
Lili Tan and John Gormley smiled through the tears of their emotional reunion on Monday morning.
The couple, who split their time between Australia and Thailand, had not seen each other since Mr Gormley caught one of the last flights home before borders closed in March 2020 to care for his elderly parents.
“It’s been really hard, it’s been video conferencing twice a day,” he said with tears in his eyes.
“It’s been so hard. It was only supposed to be one month (apart) but it’s been two years.
“I have old parents and I couldn’t leave Australia because I would not have been able to get back in.”
Scoot’s 787-9 flight was an early precursor to the international borders reopening official on February 21.
Pre-Covid-19, Scoot’s Singapore-Gold Coast route brought 130,000 to 150,000 people annually to the city.
The airline is planning to ramp up its Gold Coast flights in coming weeks, delivering more than 52,000 seats for the rest of the year.
Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson was among the first to step off the plane, jubilantly declaring “we’re back” to the waiting crowd.
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