Qld braces for ‘hundreds and thousands’ of cases as testing chaos reigns

Queenslanders are facing incredible waiting times for Covid tests as the state’s new case numbers surge to another record high.

The Covid caseload in Queensland is expected to reach six figures sometime this month as the Omicron variant heaps pressure on a buckling health system.

The Sunshine State added a record 5699 new cases on Tuesday to take the total number of active cases to 25,924, with hospitalisations rising from 147 to 170 and 11 people in intensive care, up from 10.

The update comes as people sit stranded in huge testing lines and hundreds of others are turned away from private clinics that have unexpectedly closed.

Chief health officer John Gerrard predicted the surge in cases to peak in January at somewhere in the “hundreds of thousands, if not more”.

He said nearly one in four people in Queensland were returning a positive test result, indicating there were far more cases of Covid in the community than was being reported.

One person on average was infecting between seven and 10 others, he said.

“This suggests that there are more people in the community with Covid-19 yet to be picked up,” he said.

People were reportedly facing up to seven hours waiting in lines for PCR tests in Brisbane on Tuesday, while many were being turned around following the snap closure of private QML clinics across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the gridlock had been exacerbated by private clinics being unexpectedly offline due to staffing and quarantining issues.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath denied the state had not been properly prepared for a surge in testing. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Ms D’Ath acknowledged the demand for tests had stretched the health system but she denied the state had not been properly prepared for a surge in testing.

“We have to remember, we opened our borders at the same time as Omicron came on the scene,” she said.

“We didn’t know how quickly it was going to spread and Omicron has changed the landscape (in) every state and territory in Australia.

“We had one week of data to be able to analyse how many positive cases we’re getting at the time before we change the rules, so we were not complacent.”

She said many private pathologists would not be active until next week despite Queensland Health and QML advertising they would be available.

Many distressed Brisbane and Gold Coast residents today who have queued at testing sites only to discover they're not opening. Conflicting information isn't helping.

— Lucy Stone (@ljstone09) January 3, 2022

Ms D’Ath also told journalists it was not as simple as reallocating resources to testing from other areas of the health system.

“For every person I pull out the Queensland ambulance service to pump up a new drive-up clinic … that puts pressure on the QAS,” she said.

“For every person I pull out of the hospital to run a testing or vaccination clinic, (that) puts pressure on our hospital system. So it’s trying to get that balance right. And I want to make sure I don’t leave our hospitals short or our paramedics short.”

Today we have recorded 5,699 new COVID-19 cases.

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

— Queensland Health (@qldhealth) January 4, 2022

Lines for testing clinics – including Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, were already hours long before many opened on Tuesday morning.

The Courier Mail reported that there was a seven-hour wait at the Prince Charles Hospital even before the clinic opened.

Traffic controllers are also on site at other clinics as cars clog up roadways.

“We (went) to Indooroopilly High School testing site, only to find it was closed. Nothing on the Qld Govt website to say it’s closed today,” one person posted on social media.

“They are making it ridiculously hard to get yourself tested!!!!”

Elsewhere, Stacey Percival reported: “They’re coming through the line telling us to go somewhere else and they’ve hit capacity.”

Meanwhile, Lewis Napa said: “Child collapsed in the Covid-19 testing queue at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. Supposed to be for families, accepting everyone. Line over 400m, 5+ hour wait. Staff doing a great job. Disgraceful all govts have let this testing mess blow out.”

Tuesday’s Covid press conference comes after private testing company Covax Australia was removed from the Queensland Health website on Tuesday after hundreds of swabs were lost in a major bungle, with residents left without results being told to get another test.

Chief health officer John Gerrard and Health Minister Yvette D'Ath have unveiled another leap in daily Covid cases. Picture: Zak Simmonds

The scant availability of rapid antigen tests (RATs) also continues to frustrate Queenslanders, especially as the state moves away from more onerous PCR tests to ease pressure on the health system.

Ms D’Ath did offer a glimmer of hope for RAT availability, indicating that 500,000 tests ordered by the government had arrived and would soon be available at public testing sites.

Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday announced the state had ordered 18 million at-home RATs for public test sites, which will be free to close contacts and Covid-19 positive people who require testing under a public health direction.

The tests will arrive in smaller numbers over the coming week or so, with a larger volume expected in late January.

Anyone with Covid symptoms are advised to continue to attend a Queensland Health or private testing centre to undertake a PCR test.

Ms D’Ath said she had been on the public record supporting the notion that testing should be heavily subsidised or free, but would not say if this was the view of the Premier.

Meanwhile, authorities do not yet have further details on the suspected Covid death of a Gold Coast man on Monday.

The vaccinated man passed away suddenly in his home after testing positive to the disease via a rapid antigen test (RAT).

The coroner is investigating the details.

Dr Gerrard also advised Queenslanders experiencing cold and flu symptoms, but otherwise healthy and vaccinated, to stay at home and monitor their condition.

He reminded residents that PCR tests were primarily for people with respiratory symptoms, close contacts of a Covid case or those with a positive RAT test.