Covid-19 Qld: Premier requests modelling feds say she already has

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s latest request to Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggests Queensland is as far from reopening as ever, as she demands answers the Federal Government says she already has.

Queenslanders may get no answers to what life looks like in a post-Covid-19 world following Friday’s highly anticipated National Cabinet, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk demanding answers the Federal Government says she already has.

Ms Palaszczuk wants Prime Minister Scott Morrison to release “revised Doherty modelling” before Friday’s meeting and then publicly, which she says she needs to determine border reopenings and ongoing restrictions.

But a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s office said the Premier already has all updated modelling of how cases will grow if the country opens up amid NSW and Victorian outbreaks.

The conflicting statements follow weeks of Ms Palaszczuk insisting she needs the further work to decide on border reopenings, the further lessening of restrictions and how to respond to future outbreaks in a 70 or 80 per cent double-vaccinated society.

“I look forward to seeing the modelling before this week’s National Cabinet meeting,” she said when asked exactly what she wanted to learn at Friday’s forum.

“In order to chart a course out of this pandemic and protect our way of life in Queensland, we must have the best, most up-to-date research.

“I encourage the Prime Minister to release the revised Doherty modelling before Friday’s meeting and then publicly.”

Queensland CHO Jeannette Young and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk leave a Covid-19 vaccination hub on the Gold Coast yesterday. Picture: Jono Searle/NCA NewsWire

A spokesman for Ms Palaszczuk said she was expecting to receive an update to the modelling in order to understand what happened to Covid-19 spread at 70 or 80 per cent vaccination rates if the country opened up when a massive outbreak was already under way.

But a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister's office said National Cabinet had been provided that “final sensitivity analysis” on higher case numbers and vaccinating children under 16 at their last meeting on September 17.

“Doherty is now undertaking complementary work that focuses on how to best manage high-risk groups, including Indigenous Australians and other cohorts such as schools, as Australia moves forward with the agreed plan to reopen the country,” she said

The extra work being done by Doherty Institute researchers, to be presented on Friday with more to come in mid-October, includes how public health measures such as contact tracing can be enhanced or updated to work best when the country starts opening up at 80 per cent vaccination levels, and tailoring health measures to best protect certain cohorts, including those with disabilities.

The Doherty Institute is also looking at what measures, like home quarantine, will work best at reducing transmission of the virus when international travel resumes.

The confusion comes as the NSW Government gave the clearest indication of what living with Covid might look like, releasing its plan for when the state hits 70 and 80 per cent full vaccination levels.

At 80 per cent, vaccinated residents will initially be able to travel anywhere freely in NSW, stand to drink at a pub, welcome up to 10 visitors to a home, gather with 20 people outside, and have 200 people at a Covid-safe event and 500 at a ticketed and seated event.

Community sport will resume, venues will operate with a one person per 4 square metres rule and there will be no limits on guests at weddings and funerals for fully-vaccinated people.

The unvaccinated will be able to enjoy those freedoms later, when mask restrictions will significantly ease and there will be no limits on people gathering.

Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young said businesses and residents should “prepare and hope” for borders to open by Christmas, but said it was too “simplistic” to commit to opening at 80 per cent.

“It would be wonderful to be able to know we’ve got to 80 per cent and something will happen,” she said.

“Unfortunately, it’s just not that straightforward.”

Ms Palaszczuk said she was “pretty proud” of the life we had in Queensland at the moment, but would love to see as many people as possible reunited with their families.

“The Prime Minister is working on those countries where there can be a travel bubble into the future,” she said.

Her spokesman said the Premier agreed with the national plan that provided for more localised lockdowns at 70 and 80 per cent and pointed out Queensland was only closed to declared local government hot spots.

Originally published as Covid-19 Qld: Premier requests modelling feds say she already has