3587 new cases, five people in ICU as state prepares for ‘significant’ caseload blowout

Queensland’s CHO has warned of a ‘significant increase’ in the state’s Covid caseload in coming days, as he revealed five people are now in intensive care, including two pregnant women.

Queensland has recorded 3587 new Covid cases and five people are now in intensive care - including two pregnant women - as locals are forced into a strict mask mandate.

There are now 16,688 active cases in Queensland.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday morning, chief health officer John Gerrard said the latest case numbers were smaller than expected. He warned there could still be a significant surge in cases over the next few days as more people come forward for testing.

“It will not be a surprise at all that in the next couple of days we see a significant increase in cases as more samples are tested and more people come forward,” Dr Gerrard said.

The CHO confirmed none of the Covid patients in ICU were on ventilators but he said two of those people in intensive care are pregnant women.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick and chief health officer John Gerrard speaking at a Covid press conference on Sunday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Dr Gerrard said there is now clear evidence that vaccination during pregnancy is “very safe”.

He warned that many pregnant women would be exposed to Covid-19 in coming weeks.

“We know that the virus is a significant risk both to the mother and to the unborn child,” he said.

Dr Gerrard said the immune systems of pregnant women were naturally slightly suppressed, making pregnant women more susceptible to a number of different infections, including Covid-19.

“That is why it is so critical pregnant women get vaccinated,” he said.

He also confirmed a Covid cluster in Cherboug had grown to 38 cases, with one person taken to Toowoomba Hospital for isolation purposes.

Dr Gerrard said there were currently 330 hospital and health service employees who have tested positive for Covid-19 and 724 staff were in quarantine.

There were more than 33,000 Covid tests conducted on Monday.

Dr Gerrard said he does not have a specific date for Queensland to hit 90 per cent fully-vaccinated milestone, but he believed the state would reach that target, despite fears from infectious disease experts that a slowing in the vaccine rate may mean the target is out of reach.

Treasurer Cameron Dick said Covid-19 in Queensland was now shifting from a “pandemic to endemic”.

He said authorities were not planning to “lockdown or shutdown” Queensland, but stressed the importance of people getting vaccinated, wearing masks and working from home where possible.

“That’s the way we slow the spread which ultimately will be the best outcome for business and industry,” Mr Dick said.

“The stronger we can be in our health response, the stronger our economic response will be.”

When asked how long Queenslanders would be asked to work from home, Dr Gerrard said it depended on “how long this wave of the virus will last”.

“The one good thing about a very contagious virus is that the length of the wave is likely to be shorter,” he said.

“It’s likely in the order of weeks the peak of this wave will last, rather than months, given the high transmissibility of the virus.”

The state recorded 2266 new cases of Covid-19 during a 12 hour period on New Year’s Eve as new testing requirements for interstate travellers came into effect.

Dr Gerrard said to date Queensland had been reporting Covid figures in a 24-hour period up until 7am but due to the current large numbers of cases he said it had become “increasingly difficult” to have accurate data using that cut off time.

Moving forward cases will be recorded up until 7pm each day, “to give the time for the statisticians and data collectors to make sure that what we are receiving is accurate,” Dr Gerrard said.