Queensland Covid: State reports 16 new fatalities, including child aged under 10

A child aged under 10 has died with Covid in Queensland, while another seven deaths came in aged care as the state’s pandemic toll jumped by 16.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath has lashed the Federal Government for an apparent lack of support in handling Covid in aged care. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

Queensland has reported another 16 coronavirus deaths – including a child under 10 – as the state’s daily case numbers rise to 9630.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said the child had a very serious and rare underlying inherited medical condition, with the rest of the new fatalities being people aged from their 50s to 90s.

Six of the deaths announced on Wednesday were unvaccinated, with seven of the 16 deaths coming in aged care.

Dr Gerrard said he was disappointed to see that only two of the deaths had received a booster shot.

“Particularly in such a large vulnerable group ... is just really not adequate at this stage of the pandemic,” he said.

“We really should be seeing a much higher booster right that’s that’s that is disappointing.”

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath on Tuesday said she was dismayed at the losses piling up in nursing homes, a situation she blames on the federal government. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The state’s death toll over the course of the pandemic now stands at 225, with all but seven of these fatalities coming in the first 32 days of 2022.

Deaths in aged care account for more than half of the overall tally at 114.

Wednesday’s daily case numbers were up on the 7588 reported in the previous 24 hours, but public sector hospitalisations have dropped from 801 to 764.

The number of people in public sector ICU has dipped from 50 to 49, while 23 people remain on ventilators.

There are 74 patients in private hospitals, one of whom is in ICU.

Today we have recorded 9,630 new COVID-19 cases.

Sadly, we have reported 16 deaths in the past 24 hours.

Full details âž¡ https://t.co/2vvTmlzIilpic.twitter.com/ENOWLitxR0

— Queensland Health (@qldhealth) February 2, 2022

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath reiterated that she was dismayed at the losses piling up in nursing homes, a situation she blames on the federal government.

Ms D’Ath says the Commonwealth has offloaded much of the work for the aged care sector onto the states, including requests for states to source hospital beds, protective equipment and rapid antigen tests.

She also lashed the federal government for failing to keep tabs on booster shot data for nursing homes.

“I’m hearing of residents being locked behind doors for days on end, I’m worried about adequate food and staff to provide healthy meals to residents, I’m worried about adequate staff and I’m very concerned that there are not enough aged care residents out there getting the boosters,” Ms D’Ath said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Dr Gerrard said he was concerned there has been a “substantial decline” in the rate of child covid vaccination.

“I don’t want parents to be frightened, but if I had a child going back to school, I’d want them to be vaccinated, at least have that first dose,” he said.

“Over the next few weeks or months it’s almost inevitable that a child will be exposed to this virus.”

Originally published as Queensland Covid: State reports 16 new fatalities, including child aged under 10