Horror scenario on horizon with infected medicos expected to keep working

As the government scrambles for a plan to keep the state functioning when tens of thousands fall sick in coming weeks the CHO says the situation may be so dire Covid-positive doctors and nurses may still need to work.

The state’s top doctor has warned the Covid situation in Queensland may become so dire that Covid-positive doctors and nurses may still need to work.

As the government scrambles for a plan to keep the state functioning when tens of thousands fall sick in coming weeks, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk flagged that different rules may apply to essential workers to stop the economy grinding to a halt.

Ms Palaszczuk flagged upcoming meetings around essential workers, particularly in keeping food and freight supplies operating across the state as Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said testing chaos was already decimating retail and hospitality workforces and called for an immediate fix.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said 1156 health staff are sick and a further 1835 are in quarantine. An announcement around elective surgeries will be made on Saturday.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard. Picture: Richard Walker

Dr Gerrard acknowledged rules quarantining close contacts for seven days may need to be relaxed to ensure hospitals could continue to run but that would be decided by national cabinet.

“There will be specific rules about essential workers that will be coming out soon,” he said. “It’s possible that people who are asymptomatic and positive might be asked, for example, to work in a Covid ward. It isn’t being done at the moment but that’s the sort of thing we’re making contingency plans for.”

University of Queensland Associate Professor Dr Paul Griffin said tactics needed to “evolve to keep the state functional and that could mean the close contact rules being wound back or scrapped all together”.

“We may also look at allowing people back into the workplace based on symptoms rather than on a negative test,” he said. “We are already seeing so many sectors hard hit with staff isolating with Covid or as close contacts – retail, logistics, transport and healthcare. In the end we can’t let things become non-functional.”

Originally published as Horror scenario on horizon with infected medicos expected to keep working