Covid Gold Coast: Everything you need to know about Omicron variant’s impact on Christmas
Gold Coast tourism is under threat as the new Omicron “super variant” of Covid-19 arrives in Australia. This comes as the Prime Minister calls an emergency National Cabinet meeting.
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GOLD Coast Mayor Tom Tate has urged health and political leaders to not panic in the face of the new Omicron “super variant” of Covid.
Cr Tate said no changes should be made to the December 17 reopening of Queensland’s borders and called for calm as Prime Minister Scott Morrison prepares to chair an emergency session of national cabinet.
“There have been several variants to this virus since early 2020 and I would strongly encourage the State to stick to its reopening plan,” Cr Tate said.
“A new variant cannot change the entire game plan.
“We have to learn to live with Covid. When we have 80 plus percent of the population double vaccinated which is only 10 days away, in my view, it is time to open the borders and deal with any medical issues associated with those who have clearly chosen not to get vaccinated.’’
Queensland on Monday recorded five cases of Covid in hotel quarantine, with no community transmission.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles the government will be taking a “cautious approach” to the new variant.
Several European and Asian nations reported cases of Omicron overnight.
Chief medical officer Paul Kelly on Monday said while Omicron was rightly being treated with concern – particularly as much is still to be learnt about the new strain – the latest research suggested its symptoms were no more severe than previous versions of the disease.
“There is some science in South Africa but particularly those in other countries, and that number is growing overnight, that it is relatively mild compared with previous versions,” Professor Kelly told ABC News24.
Professor Kelly stressed that it was “still early days” and much more still needed to be learnt about the transmissibility of Omicron and its potential interference with existing treatments.
He did, however, suggest there was no urgent need for vaccine makers to tweak their formulas to counter Omicron.
“But if it was the case, we’ve already heard from several of the vaccine manufacturers, including those who have bought all three that are licensed here that they’re working on that,” Professor Kelly said.
Professor Kelly said had been in frequent contact with Prime Minister Scott Morrison over Australia’s border situation, though he would not speculate on whether government would extend its ban on entrants from nine African countries.
“We‘re watching very closely and actively engaging with our international partners in the scientific field but also the diplomatic field to get a sense for how the world is going,” he said.
It comes as a record-breaking influx of interstate visitors to the Gold Coast is under threat from the emergence of the new Omicron “super variant” of Covid-19.
The city is poised for its best holiday seasons in two years with booked out flights from Sydney and Melbourne to begin arriving from December 17 when Queensland’s borders are scheduled to reopen.
Tourism industry figures fear the new highly contagious variant, which was detected in southern Africa and saw two cases confirmed in Sydney on Sunday, will cast a shadow over the reopening of the domestic and international borders.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called an emergency National Cabinet meeting today to discuss plans for international arrivals.
He said NSW and Victoria’s decision to impose a 72 hour quarantine for overseas arrivals will give policymakers time to review the evidence over the coming days.
Health officials and political leaders say they are watching the situation closely and have not ruled out make changes to the reopening plans if the virus spreads.
Queensland Airports CEO Chris Mills said airline and accommodation books were far stronger than expected and forecast the Gold Coast would have a record-breaking summer: “The number of flights scheduled for the Gold Coast are actually above pre-Covid levels and there is the potential for us to actually break some records over the next few months.
“Right now we haven’t got time to worry about the Omicron variant, our focus is on operational readiness though we’ll have to keep an eye on it.
“It is too early us to form a view on it but our focus is on the domestic borders. Numbers coming out of Melbourne and Sydney are very strong.”
Queensland Tourism Industry Council boss Daniel Gschwind said he was concerned the new variant would put a dampener on traveller confidence but urged caution against making pre-emptive changes to the reopening plan.
“Omicron reintroduces a huge uncertainty and we would have felt as though Covid was going to be in the past heading into 2022 but right now it is casting a shadow over things,” he said.
“We are hoping to maintain our domestic options and there is a lot of growing optimism as we head towards December 17.
“Bookings are strong and expectations are high we can have a strong summer season and hopefully this can sustain us until international confidence again improves.”
The new variant has already seen many countries close their international borders to the continent or, in the case of Israel, to all international visitors.
Omicron has been detected in nine African nations: South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Seychelles, Mozambique and Malawi.
All travellers who had spent time in those countries during the 14-day period before they arrived must enter hotel quarantine for 14 days, irrespective of their vaccination status.
Queensland on Sunday record three new cases of Covid, all of which were interstate arrivals from Victoria and who are in hotel quarantine.
A total of 9587 vaccinations were administered over the past 24 hours, with 86.05 per cent of Queenslanders having had their first dose, while 75.72 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Acting chief health officer Dr Peter Aitken could not guarantee the borders would reopen without quarantine to domestic hot spots but called the question “hypothetical”.
“We’ll make that decision when there’s evidence available that needs a change in position. At this stage there’s no evidence available to support a change in position.
Dr Aitken said Omicron was a variant of concern.
“We need to be cautious but we don’t need to be alarmed,” he said.
Dr Aitken said 10 people from the nine southern African countries where Omicron had been detected were quarantining in Queensland.
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