Covid-19 update: Nine more Covid-19 deaths, 16,812 new cases

A teenager is among nine more people to have died with Covid-19 in Queensland, with close to 17,000 new cases recorded overnight. Deputy Premier Steven Miles has also announced the first groups to use the state’s Wellcamp quarantine facility.

Nine more people have died with Covid-19 in Queensland, with 16,812 new cases recorded.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said there were now more than 91,300 active cases in the state.

He also announced when the state’s Wellcamp quarantine facility will kick into gear, with 500 beds available for guests next month.

Mr Miles said the first 500 beds would be used for guests in February. There will be two pods of 250 beds operated individually.

The first pod will be used for travellers who still need to quarantine while the second will be for Queenslanders directed into isolation because their accommodation is not suitable.

He said the Wellcamp facility was still “incredible value for money” despite the relaxed international travel rules coming in on Saturday.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles with chief health officer Dr John Gerrard. File picture: Richard Walker

Wellcamp will cost the same as hotel quarantine for unvaccinated arrivals, according to Mr Miles.

“We don’t currently charge people who are directed to isolate,” he said.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said the nine deaths announced this morning included an 18-year-old with serious underlying health conditions.

Of the others, one person was in their 70s, five in their 80s, one in their 90s and one aged over 100.

Dr Gerrard said three were unvaccinated, one had a booster and the others were double dosed.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said there were plenty of vaccination bookings available and encouraged people to look for early slots.

“We are still taking walk-ins as well at many of these clinics,” she said.

The minister said the government was giving “serious consideration” to moving eligibility for boosters to three months, mean more Queenslanders would be able to get one.

“I want to make sure that the pharmacists and GPs are ready if we do that,” she said.

Dr Gerrard said it was important to note that vaccine effectiveness “wears off over a long period”.

Ms D’Ath said the Gold Coast University Hospital was working overtime to deal with the number of cases, saying there were now seven dedicated wards managing Covid-19 patients.

There are now 850 people in Queensland hospitals, with 48 people in ICU.

Twenty people are ventilated.

Dr Gerrard said that the health strategy has remained the same and that it was “inevitable” that the virus would spread through Queensland.

“All I can say is that this is what was expected,” he said.

“What goes a bit beyond what was expected was the speed that this virus spread.”

He said the number of people in hospital beds would be in the low thousands as the Omicron surge peaks.

Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

Ms D’Ath said there was a significant decrease in lost time of ambulances offloading patients because of new procedures implemented in response to Covid.

But she said that people should not call ambulances to receive a rapid antigen testing.

She said people who would not normally call triple-0 for - for an illness other than Covid - should not call.

There are now 2374 health workers with Covid and more than 1900 health workers in quarantine.

Today’s media conference was held at Brisbane business AnteoTech, which manufactures rapid antigen tests.

A spokesman said the could be supplying million of RATs to the country if they could be manufactured onshore.

The company is in talks with the federal government and TGA seeking approval to start manufacturing the tests in the state for direct supply to Queenslanders.

Mr Miles again took aim at the Federal Government over rapid antigen tests, saying more had been diverted away from Queensland.

He said “it is urgent” more RATs be approved and made in Australia.

“We should have Australian workers making tests here in Queensland,” he said.

Mr Miles said the shortage of RAT tests is directly linked to food shortages in shopping centres.

The Queensland government’s quarantine hub at Wellcamp near Toowoomba will be in use from next month. File picture: Nev Madsen.

“We need the Commonwealth to do everything they can to both get RAT tests into Australia and support sovereign manufacturing,” he said.

Responding to a story in today’s The Courier-Mail, Ms D’Ath said the movement of union officials in hospitals was in emergency or extreme situations only.

She confirmed that “quite a few” health workers have already left employment either by show cause or by choice in the aftermath of the vaccine mandate.

“I’ve asked all chief executives of health services to have all exemptions determined by next week,” Ms D’Ath said.

In relation to schools, she said there would be a reserve workforce to cover any vacancies.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Commissioner Joanne Greenfield had been named as the state’s first quarantine commissioner.

Eleven more deaths were reported by Queensland authorities on Wednesday morning, including an unvaccinated person in their 30s.

There were 19,932 new Covid-19 cases.

With Queensland’s double-dose vaccination rate climbing to 88.82 per cent, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that entry restrictions on vaccinated travellers from overseas would lift at 1am on Saturday.

Unvaccinated travellers will still need to go into two weeks of quarantine, even when the state reaches the 90 per cent mark.