Covid Qld: Latest case numbers amid major booster change

Queensland has recorded 8643 Covid-19 cases and nine more deaths, as a Gold Coast study has revealed just how widespread unknown community transmission is, with figures showing nine out of 10 positive cases didn’t even know they had the virus.

Queensland has recorded 8643 new cases of Covid-19 and nine deaths as a two-day study which involved randomly testing people showed just how widespread unknown community transmission was.

Four of the deaths were in aged care and all were over 60 years old, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed.

Of the nine deaths, one person was in their 60s, two in the 70s, three in the 80s, one in 90s and two over the age of 100. Three people were unvaccinated, one had one dose, four were double vaccinated and one person was triple vaccinated.

Chief Health officer Dr John Gerrard said a study on the Gold Coast to “get a better idea of what is really happening” with Covid-19 revealed that on January 22, when the virus was peaking on the coast, 117 randomised households were visited and tests performed on an individual.

Of those 117 people tested, 20 came back positive – one in six.

Only four of the 20 reported having any symptoms, Dr Gerrard said.

Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard. Pics Adam Head

“There were people walking around the Gold Coast who had no idea they had Covid-19,” he said.

Dr Gerrard said two among the 20 knew they were positive, meaning 18 did not know they were positive.

“To recap, four out of five had no symptoms and nine out of 10 did not know they were positive,” he said.

“It is quite extraordinary.

“There are people walking around the Gold Coast who had no idea they were infected.

“A lot of people that have been infected are completely unaware they were infected. That number is significant.”

He said that cemented the reason masks were so important.

Dr Gerrard said authorities were still “planning for the worst” in preparing for potential future waves, especially in winter.

“Clearly the virus is much more widespread than the collected data has suggested,” he said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Liam Kidston

“At this stage we still don’t know the total number of people in Queensland and on the Gold Coast who have been infected.”

He tipped one third of the state had been infected.

He said a repeated study of 143 households repeated a week later found that 11 people were positive and six had symptoms. Only two already knew they had Covid.

He said it indicated the pandemic peak had passed on the Gold Coast.

Dr Gerrard said it was therefore likely there was a significant number of the population who had already been infected but didn’t know it.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the state now had a much better understanding of the prevalence of Covid in the community.

It is expected one in 13 people on the Gold Coast are positive.

Ms D’Ath urged people to get tested if they had symptoms, and that testing lines were no longer as bad as they were earlier last month.

She said she was concerned that there were people in the study who had been symptomatic, but who hadn’t been tested.

There are 749 people in public hospitals and 47 in intensive care.

There are 89.71 per cent of people with two doses of the vaccine and 34 per cent of children aged 5-11 have one dose.

It comes as hundreds of thousands of Australians aged 16 and 17 have been given the green light to get their Covid-19 booster three months after their second dose.

Almost 90 per cent of teenagers in this group have already received their second dose of the vaccine, with at least two-thirds to be eligible for their booster from Tuesday.

Ms D’Ath said vaccinations would be available from state clinics from today.

She hit out at the Commonwealth’s establishment of an aged care taskforce, declaring it knew what the problems were.

“We’ve had a Royal Commission, the recommendations are there and the Commonwealth knows what needs to be done,” she said.

However, Ms D’Ath said the taskforce would be welcomed if it was able to urgently fix problems in the sector’s Covid-19 response.