Health Minister Yvette D’Ath provides an update on Queensland’s latest Covid cases

Fully vaccinated Queenslanders will get a huge reduction to quarantine requirements for close contacts from January 1, as another new Covid-19 case – active in the community for five days – was recorded on the Gold Coast.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath. Picture: Dan Peled

Queensland has recorded one new Covid case in the community less than two days out from the opening of the state’s border, prompting a new warning to Queenslanders as Christmas approaches.

It comes as fully vaccinated Queenslanders will get a huge reduction to quarantine requirements for close contacts from January 1.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath revealed new guidelines for businesses when dealing with Covid cases.

“If you are a close contact and you are vaccinated, from January 1 you will only need to quarantine for seven days,” she said.

It’s also been revealed businesses that are exposure sites do not need to undertake a deep clean.

The Minister conceded businesses have done it tough over the past two years.

“We know that with staff shortages, particularly in the hospitality sector, this is really going to be beneficial for them,” she said.She said close contacts who worked at critical infrastructure such as power stations, mines and refineries may still be able to go to work if they could not do so at home.

Lines at the COVID-19 testing clinic set up at Broadbeach State School.

Unvaccinated close contacts will still need to get tested and isolate for 14 days.

Casual contacts will need to immediately get tested but only quarantine until their test result comes back.

Ms D’Ath said the January 1 date had been set because “We can’t do this all at once”.

“January 1 allows us a little bit of time for to see how many cases we get,” she said.

She said the timeframe also allowed authorities time to find out more about the Omicron variant.

Ms D’Ath said the new case was already identified as a person of interest, with authorities currently investigating what links they have to the other clusters on the Gold Coast.

They have been infectious in the community for five days – from December 6-10 – and were a casual contact at a Bunnings store.

“It just reminds all of us that you can get this virus anywhere., you have to be vigilant,” she said.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'At. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Acting chief health officer Peter Aitken said the new case had used the check-in app and repeated the plea for Queenslanders to keep coming forward to get the jab.

“It’s never too late to get vaccinated,” he said.

Authorities don’t yet know whether the woman is connected to known cases.

Ms D’Ath said genomic sequencing had found the Covid cases on the Gold Coast were the Delta variant.

She said Queensland had successfully kept Covid at bay but there would be “many hundreds if not thousands of cases” over the next 12 months.

Small business Minister Di Farmer said Covid-19 will be coming to the pubs, clubs and restaurants.

She said the new guidelines would minimise disruption and risk.

Six new community cases on the Gold Coast were announced on Friday, forcing the closure of a school and sparking a contact tracing alert.

The new cases have sent jitters through the state just two days from the long-awaited border reopening.

Despite the surge in cases, the Queensland government is adamant there will be no changes to the state’s Covid road map.

The borders will open to people from Covid hotspots at 1am Monday.