Queensland flags back-to-school delays as daily cases leap to record 10,953

Covid continues to race across Queensland, with authorities flagging a back-to-school delay of up to two weeks as cases surge.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned parents the back-to-school schedule could be delayed by two weeks as cases hit a new daily high 10,953, setting set the state up for a torrid January and February period.

Friday’s new record daily tally comes even as people are being steered away from PCR testing unless absolutely necessary, a move designed to ease pressures on a gridlocked testing system.

There are now more than 52,000 active Covid cases in Queensland - a 25-fold increase on the 2100 active at Christmas - with chief health officer John Gerrard warning the figure could climb into the “hundreds of thousands” by the end of January.

Queenslanders are again being urged to work from home where possible and to consider staying indoors for the next month-and-a-half.

“We‘re asking you to minimize your going out for essentially the next six weeks. That’s not that’s not a big ask,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Ms Palaszczuk on Friday flagged the state would not be sending primary school children back to school in the peak of the wave, paving the way for delays to term 1.

School was due to go back on Monday January 24 according to the Department of Education website.

A final decision is yet to be made as the state assesses modelling.

Today we have recorded 10,953 new COVID-19 cases.

Full details âž¡ https://t.co/2vvTmlzIilpic.twitter.com/490raCt4mR

— Queensland Health (@qldhealth) January 7, 2022

“I don‘t want parents to have concerns. I’ve got sisters who’ve got young children, they’re concerned and they want to make sure that their kids are vaccinated before returned to school, but also to we’re heading towards a peak,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“You know, there may be staff shortages as well. So we‘ve got, we’ve got to factor all of that in. January and February is going to be a very tough time for Queensland.”

Vaccinations for children aged five to 11 start on Monday.

Meanwhile, Queensland hospitalisations rose from 265 to 327 people in the 24 hours to 7pm Thursday, with 14 people now in intensive care, up from 12.

Another person has been put on a ventilator, an unvaccinated man in his 70s.

There are 21,843 Covid patients being cared for in their own homes.

Brisbane residents pictured queuing for testing at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital amid the Covid-19 Omicron strain outbreak. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Josh Woning

Friday’s case total was only up by 600 or so from Thursday’s tally, with numbers having risen by more than 3000 the day before.

Dr Gerrard has conceded the state’s official statistics are believed to be a “gross underestimate of the true numbers”, with hospitalisations expected to peak “in their thousands”.

“The number of patients in hospital wards with COVID-19 is increasing steadily,” Dr Gerrard said.

“It‘s expected in the next two-to-three weeks to increase very substantially and hospitals are now preparing.

“We are going to be stepping up to a major emergency in the coming two-to-three weeks.”

The demand for testing has become so high in the state’s metro south east region, some Queenslanders have reported waiting up to nine hours for a PCR test.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said her department was working on a system to allow residents to notify authorities of their at-home results. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Josh Woning

A number of people are choosing to stay home and use rapid antigen tests (RATs) instead of battling huge testing queues, despite there being no system in place for the government to know the true testing numbers.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath on Friday said her department was working on a phone hotline system to allow residents to notify authorities of their at-home results.

Fully vaccinated young people with mild flu symptoms have been asked to assume they have Covid, and to stay home instead of heading out for a PCR test.

Ms D’Ath said symptomatic people who cannot access a RAT should still line up for a PCR test.

The state is also waiting for the imminent arrival of a RAT test shipment from the federal government.

“I‘ve asked for them to tell me when the trucks arrive,” she told Friday’s media conference.

Meanwhile, Queensland has also removed the requirement for freight workers and truck drivers to provide a negative Covid-19 PCR test to enter the state.