Covid Qld: Surgery suspension threat as case spike puts strain on hospitals and quarantine rules change

A major change to Queenland’s quarantine laws means anyone who has recovered from the virus will no longer need to quarantine during the 12 weeks after, even if someone in their home tests positive. It comes amid a new strain on the health system and vaccination push.

More than twice the expected number of Queensland health workers are unable to work due to Covid isolation, putting serious strain on the health system, with some hospitals considering cancelling elective surgeries.

It comes as the state will open an increased number of Covid vaccination clinics as the number of cases continues to rise, with 10,722 recorded in the past 24 hours.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said increasing cases in hospitals and more than double the number of health staff being unable to work meant there was pressure on the system.

Ms D’Ath said more than 3000 health workers were in isolation, putting extreme pressure on some hospitals which may force the suspension of services including elective surgery.

She said the strain was widespread from Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Darling Downs and more but the decision to suspend surgeries would be made at a hospital level – a statewide pause was not planned.

Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard and Health Minister Yvette D'Ath. Picture: Liam Kidston

There are 376 people with Covid in public hospital and 13 in intensive care.

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said people who had ‘documented Covid’ – a positive RAT or PCR test – would not need to get a test in the 12 weeks after infection despite their symptoms. They would also not be classed as a close contact in those 12 weeks, therefore avoiding any quarantine.

More than 50 vaccination clinics will open across the state over the school holidays. The updated list of vaccination clinics will be published here.

About 63 per cent of people have received a booster vaccination. Ms D’Ath said parents with children aged 5-11 should come forward and get them vaccinated.

Dr Gerrard said the wave of Covid was being driven by the BA2 sun variant.

He said it was “particularly affecting children”.

While hospitalisations will increase for the next two weeks, he anticipated it would then fall.

“Our data is suggesting we are approaching the peak of transmission of this wave,” he said.

“The peak, as we’ve said many times, is not the end.”

From April 4 vulnerable people can receive their fourth dose of the vaccine.

Dr Gerrard said the wave would be milder than the one in January because of vaccinations.

He said the number of people in ICU and on ventilators was a “very small number”.

“All of that is because of vaccination,” he said.

Dr Gerrard said remaining Covid restrictions continued to be reviewed.

“We’ll be actively reviewing the few public health measures that remain in place, as our hospitalisations are expected to fall in the coming weeks,” he said.

“At this stage we still don’t know what will happen, we don’t know if we’ll have further waves.”

Dr Gerrard said he wanted to see the number of hospitalisations fall before any of the left over measures were reviewed.

Dr Gerrard said removing and bringing back restrictions was a difficult process.

“If we want to take them away, we need to be sure that’s what we want to do,” he said.

He said the restrictions were being reviewed “constantly”.

Ms D’Ath said the Wellcamp quarantine facility has meant the government was able to decommission most hotel quarantine in Brisbane.

“Since we brought Wellcamp online, it has saved us $8 and a half million a month,” she said.

She said hotel quarantine stopped outbreaks in the state, but Wellcamp is now shifting responsibilities and means so hotels can return to regular business.

Ms D’Ath said hotel quarantine was still available in the regions for people who tested positive on holidays or homeless people who didn’t have anywhere to quarantine.

“It’s more than reasonable that we maintain these for the moment in the regions,” she said.

Ms D’Ath said that the ongoing vaccine mandate was giving people confidence to head back into certain venues.

“It’s encouraging people to want to actually be back in the community because they can have that confidence,” she said.

She said the restrictions were “still doing the job” and the government would wait and see what happens with the current wave.

Queensland on Thursday recorded 7289 new Covid-19 cases and five deaths, bringing the state’s total up to 69,154 active cases, after recording more than 10,000 the day before and earlier in the week.