Covid Qld: Latest case details as first quarantine-free international flights arrive

Queensland has recorded 15,050 new Covid-19 cases and 10 more deaths as it receives the best indication yet of when the virus will peak. It comes as international visitors are able to arrive without having to go into quarantine.

Queensland has recorded 15,050 new Covid-19 cases and 10 more deaths in the past 24 hours, as the chief health officer confirms Queensland has received its best indication yet of when the virus will peak in the state.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard confirmed the details on the first day in close to two years that international visitors have been able to arrive in Queensland without having to go into quarantine.

Of the deaths, one person was aged in their 40s, another in their 50s, six were aged in their 80s and two in their 90s.

Dr Gerrard said one person was unvaccinated, six had received two doses of vaccine, and three people had received their booster shots.

He said the pandemic had peaked in NSW and he was confident Queensland would follow a similar path.

That peak is expected in two weeks, although the Gold Coast could peak in coming days, followed by Brisbane.

“The peak is not the end, the peak is the high point of transmission,” Dr Gerrard said.

“What happens going forward after this wave, we don’t know. We will always plan for the worse and hope for the best.”

He said people had to make the choice to get vaccinated, or become infected with the virus but that any vaccinated individual’s probability of ending up in hospital was very small.

“Anyone who is not immune will continue to be susceptible,” he said.

“In Queensland, since opening the domestic borders, we have confirmed cases of Covid-19 numbering about a quarter of a million.

“The real number is substantially greater than that, we don’t know the true number but it’s likely to be closer to 1 million.

“An individual’s probability of ending up in hospital if they are vaccinated is tiny. It’s much greater for the unvaccinated.”

Dr Gerrard said the average age for an unvaccinated person in Queensland hospitals was about 20 years younger than those who were vaccinated and hospitalised for Covid-19, at about 39 years old.

He said the majority of cases in hospitals were either the vaccinated elderly or vulnerable members of the population, or the unvaccinated.

Brisbane International Airport is welcoming vaccinated new international arrivals without the need for quarantine. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Dr Gerrard said Queensland Health is planning for the possibility there may be another peak when the weather cools.

He said it was unclear if it will happen, however said precautionary plans are already underway.

He said there would be likely be more transmission related to the return of school.

“We don’t want to be changing things right as we approach the peak,” Dr Gerrard said when questioned on the usefulness of Queensland’s Checkin App.

“There definitely will be transmission when schools return,” he said.

“Whether it will be an equally sized peak or not, I don’t think we know that yet. But it affirms the decision to delay the opening of schools … until after the peak.”

Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said today was a good day for Brisbane and for the state, as international travellers can now arrive into Brisbane without needing to go into quarantine.

“This terminal, up until last night consisted of two parts … As you can see today, the terminal is back to where it was before Covid. That feels really good,” he said.

Mr de Graaff said that there was light at the end of the tunnel for Brisbane Airport, however he estimates it will take three to five years for the state’s travel industry to “get back to normal”.

“Australians cannot travel to all countries of the world,” he said.

“That will change, and that’s all good.”

He said on Friday, the Brisbane International Airport had a total of about 500 travellers.

This morning, he said there had already been about 1000, with the first international flight to arrive after restrictions were lifted being an Air New Guinea plane.

From 1am, fully vaccinated arrivals at the state’s international airports were able to simply continue their journey as normal, provided they have received a negative rapid antigen test within 24 hours.

Mandatory 14-days quarantine will continue for unvaccinated travellers.

Minister for Tourism Stirling Hinchliffe said the state would experience a slow build for the tourism industry, but “a welcome one”.

“We need to work closely across the whole of team Queensland and indeed team Australia,” he said.

Dr Gerrard said he was very confident in the decision to delay school openings by two weeks.

Mr Hinchliffe said he was hopeful Queensland would see tourism return, but acknowledged the first rush of travellers will be those reuniting with loved ones, as well as international students.

He expects tourists will follow shortly afterwards.

Mr Hinchliffe said he doesn’t know the figures around how much the state has lost in tourism across the Covid-19 period, however said the state had done a good job at sustaining tourism locally.

Mr Hinchliffe said the State Government did not expect incoming international arrivals to flood Queensland’s health system.

“We don’t see this as being a great burden on the nature of our health system,” he said.

“Those numbers are modest as compared to the usual inbound numbers from previous times.”

Asked about the case where a woman claims she had her newborn taken from her and was told she would only get him back once she had recorded a negative PCR test, Dr Gerrard said it was a regretful situation.

“I’m very sorry if this lady had a bad experience in one of our hospitals,” he said.

Dr Gerrard said it was “a general principle” that a mother and baby stay together in hospital, “even if the other is positive”.