Qld Covid-19 update: Queensland records 714 cases of coronavirus

Queensland has recorded 714 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, but authorities say numbers will be ‘substantially higher’ in coming days after a dip in testing on Christmas Day. Dozens of health workers have contracted the virus, with hundreds now in quarantine.

Queensland has recorded 714 new cases of Covid-19 on Boxing Day but residents have been warned that the drop in numbers compared to Christmas Day will not last.

The state recorded 765 new cases on Saturday.

Queensland chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said the dip in cases was likely due to a drop in testing over the Christmas period, even though more than 30,000 tests were performed by Queensland Health. yesterday.

“That will have something to do with Christmas, and I expect substantially higher numbers in the next few days,” Dr Gerrard said.

“And we would not be too concerned about that”.

Queensland now has 2857 active cases.

Dr Gerrard confirmed there were 55 hospital and health service employees confirmed to have Covid — with more than 300 now in quarantine.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick has provided a Covid-19 update. File picture: Annette Dew

There were no cases in intensive care or on ventilators last night.

Dr Gerrard did not break down case locations, but said the virus was still be detected widely across the state, with about 70 per cent of the cases of the Omicron variant.

Dr Gerrard made a strong appeal for pregnant women to get vaccinated against the virus, saying authorities were concerned there were a lot of women not getting vaccinated against Covid-19.

“Covid-19 is a very bad infection to get during pregnancy, it’s bad for the mother and it’s bad for the unborn baby,” he said.

He said the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines available are safe and effective to give during pregnancy.

“So please please can I make a specific appeal to pregnant women to get vaccinated now,” he said.

Dr Gerrard said if you live in Queensland you are likely to be exposed to the virus in the coming weeks.

He said he had discussed symptoms of the Omicron variant with his NSW counterpart Dr Kerry Chant, which included abdominal symptoms, dehydration, diarrhoea as well as severe respiratory symptoms.

Dr Gerrard said three-quarters of the new cases in Queensland in the past fortnight have been people under the age of 35.

“We see younger people are more social and because of that they are picking up and spreading the virus more,” he said.

He said he didn’t want to “overemphasise” that the virus was targeting younger people, it was simply that older people were going out less and were less likely to pick up the virus.

Dr Gerrard said he was satisfied with the turnaround times for Covid test results, especially in comparison to other states.

He said his daughter was tested recently and got her results in a matter of hours.

“The turnarounds are actually quite good, especially compared to Sydney, I’d say they’re very much faster,” he said. New South Wales has today recorded 6394 new cases, with Premier Dominic Perrottet urging the community to “stay strong”. Victoria has recorded 1608 new cases.