Premier won’t reveal govt’s return-to-school plan without Grace Grace, who has Covid

Parents are being forced to wait for the state government’s return-to-school Covid plan because Annastacia Palaszczuk wants the Education Minister alongside her.

Parents are being forced to wait for the state government’s return-to-school Covid plan because Annastacia Palaszczuk wants to reveal it with her Education Minister who’s contracted the virus.

The Premier on Tuesday said she wanted to wait until Grace Grace was well and out of isolation before she announced the plan, which is expected to answer questions around masks, rapid-antigen testing and isolation requirements.

It comes as staggered peaks of Covid-19 cases are being experienced across Queensland with Townsville likely to hit its high point in two weeks.

The Gold Coast is believed to have already reached its peak while Cairns was currently experiencing its spike.

Brisbane cases will continue to rise over the next week before they’re expected to steadily fall.

Authorities revealed another 11 people had died while 9546 new cases were recorded on Tuesday.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Evan Morgan

None of the people who lost their lives had received a booster.

Chief health officer John Gerrard said individual hospitals would experience strain as cases grew.

“But the peak appears to be slightly less in most areas – it won’t necessarily be the same everywhere – than we had planned for,” he said.

“The hospitals are coping well at this stage.”

The Premier said hospitalisations were lower than what had been expected.

“In some good news the fact that our hospitals are going to be reaching … peaks at different times should give Queenslanders a bit more comfort as well,” she said.

“It’s not everything happening all at once.”

Meanwhile Ms Palaszczuk said she would reveal the return to school plan with Ms Grace when she was “back on deck”.

“I think people can understand that I’d like the Education Minister to be here for that announcement,” she said.

Education Minister Grace Grace. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

In a Facebook post, Ms Grace said she was focusing on the plan while working from home.

“It went to cabinet this week and now we are consulting with key stakeholders and getting the latest health advice,” she said.

But the move sparked criticism from Opposition education spokesman Christian Rowan who wants the plan to be released immediately.

“While I wish the Minister well in her recovery from Covid-19, I believe not another day can go by where the state government doesn’t provide a comprehensive plan,” he said.

“This shouldn’t be about who makes the announcement, this should be about the ongoing education needs and safety of our children.”

It’s understood year three to year six students will be strongly encouraged to wear masks if they can’t socially distance.

Decisions around high school students and masks have not yet been finalised.