Queensland records 11,000 new Covid cases, 10 deaths as Premier urges people to wear masks

The Premier has pleaded with Queenslanders to wear a mask after 11,000 new Covid cases overnight as authorities admit they don’t know when the state’s third Covid wave will peak. VOTE IN OUR POLL

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has pleaded with Queenslanders to wear masks while indoors after 11,000 new Covid cases overnight.

It comes as authorities admitted they don’t know when the current Covid wave would peak after earlier this month saying it was expected in late July or early August.

A total of 1034 Covid patients are being treated in hospitals, while 10 people have died in the past 24 hours including one from the flu.

Ms Palaszczuk said if people wore their masks, they could save lives.

“If you’re indoors, put on a mask,” Ms Palaszczuk said, adding that parents should also talk to their children about wearing masks at school.

“Please take this seriously.”

“And if you have not had that booster go and get that booster,” she said.

Acting chief health officer Peter Aitken, who addressed media due to Dr John Gerrard being off on non-Covid medical leave, said there were 161 new flu cases on Thursday.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: David Clark

He said Queenslanders should ‘get on with your lives’ and confirmed there were no plans to introduce a mask mandate.

“We strongly encourage mask wearing rather than mandate it,” he said.

“Queenslanders know to do the right thing … there’s no mandate on the agenda.

“If you’re sick stay home, that’s the best thing you can do.

“Get vaccinated, wear a mask if you can’t physically distance.”

Dr Aitken said authorities were trying to work through when the current Covid wave would reach its peak.

He said that there are a number of modelling groups looking to determine when the peak would occur and hoped to have an answer later today.

Dr Aiken said that a tier system in place at hospitals allowed each hospital to allocate their resources to where they were most needed.

“We’re also talking with our staff and working through how to protect them.”

He said that at this stage, there was no increase in severity from the new BA 4 and 5 strains, and that increased hospitalisations were the result of an increase in case numbers only.

He said there were four key things to protect yourself during this Covid wave – get vaccinated or boosted, wear a mask when unable to socially distance, stay at home when sick and think about antivirals to fight Covid

Dr Aitken said the data showed people were three times less likely to die if they were up-to-date with their boosters.

Dr Aitken said that at this point, mass vaccination hubs were unlikely to be rolled out again.

“The vaccination rollout is happening really well across pharmacies, and there is still capacity there.”