Queensland watching other states ahead of easing mask mandates

Queensland health officials will be watching other states closely before going ahead with a planned easing of mask mandates next week.

Queensland will be watching other states closely before going ahead with a planned easing of mask mandates next week, health officials said today.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the changes for her state on Tuesday.

Both Victoria and NSW further scaled back mask mandates from today, maintaining them only on public transport, in hospitals, airports and a limited number of other high risk environments such as aged and disability care.

Chief health officer John Gerrard said he would be watching closely to see what happens in those states before committing to the decision.

“We are going to be lifting the indoor mask mandates for most situations from next Friday,” Dr Gerrard said.

“We will however be monitoring the effects of changes in the mask mandates both interstate and in Queensland,”

“If the situation does change, it may well be that those mandates do need to be implemented again; that‘s always been on the cards.”

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said mandates could be implemented again if the situation changes. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

He added health officials were expecting to see ongoing transmissions over the coming months, heading into winter.

Queensland recorded 5,440 new cases on Friday, along with seven deaths. Three of those were not vaccinated and just one had received a booster shot.

There were 333 people in hospital on Friday, with 27 requiring intensive care.

Dr Gerrard said the drop in hospitalisations from 928 this time last month showed how quickly things could change.

According to Health Minister Yvette D’Ath most hospitals had been able to reduce their Covid treatments down to just one ward.

“This has always been about making sure we don’t overwhelm our hospitals – and our hospitals are doing very well with managing Covid patients now,” she said.

Hospitalisations in Queensland have more than halved in the past month, giving health officials the confidence to ease restrictions. Picture: Brendan Radke

She said lifting mask restrictions was a case of “if not [now], when?”

“But we all need to be conscious that if there is a spike, particularly going into winter, that we could bring the masks back,” Ms D’Ath said.

“And also respecting the right that any individual, if they feel uncomfortable and want to wear a mask, that they should do so.”

Cases in school aged children in Queensland also saw a decline to 1396.

“These numbers will fluctuate daily but the main thing is we are not seeing a substantial surge in school aged children,” Mr Gerrard said.