Queensland records no new Covid cases as health workers get final vaccine deadline

Thousands of Queensland health workers have been given a final deadline to get the Covid vaccination or be banned from any facility where care is provided.

Health staff refusing to be vaccinated against Covid will be booted from their workplaces and could face disciplinary action come Monday.

It comes after Queensland recorded no new community cases, but one in hotel quarantine, after two new locally-acquired cases on Tuesday.

A letter sent out by Health boss Dr John Wakefield earlier this week states that anyone who has not supplied proof of vaccination and has not applied for an exemption can no longer work in any facility “where care is provided”.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said about 2000 health staff had indicated they were unvaccinated, but said she had “full confidence” the system would manage.

“There will be pressures on the system but those pressures are far less that what it would be if we had a major outbreak,” she said.

“We make no apologies whatsoever for mandating vaccinations of our health workers and aged care.

“New South Wales has had people even as recent as last week come into the hospital system and contract the virus while in a public hospital and died from it.”

“If we have unvaccinated health workers and the virus spreads through our hospital, which it absolutely will, then we don’t have a workforce.”

Dr John Wakefield. Picture: John Gass

Dr Wakefield said the time for asking “please” was over.

“I don’t want to be pursuing a disciplinary pathway. However, I will not hesitate to do so for staff who fail to comply with this reasonable condition of employment, in order to provide a safe workplace,” he wrote in the letter.

Workers who are still waiting for the exemption to processed would be asked to take leave or redeployed to a role where they don’t come into contact with patients.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath and chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young. Picture: Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Ms D’Ath said 13,603 vaccinations were administered in the past 24 hours, with the state hitting 75.68 per cent first doses and 62 per cent fully vaccinated.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk ramped-up her rhetoric about Queenslanders getting the jab.

“I’ve stopped asking, now I’m telling you to go get vaccinated,” she said.

“What are you going to tell the doctors and nurses when you turn up sick that you haven’t been vaccinated.”

Ms Palaszczuk revealed a door-to-door, street-to-street vaccination program would begin in Cherbourg – which has one of the lowest rates in the state.

Dr Young said there had been a few cases on the Gold Coast in recent days, but high testing and the limited exposure in the community was good news.

That includes an unvaccinated 17-year-old who caught the virus after a family member stayed with him for three days from October 17 after visiting from Tweed Heads.

Dr Young said she wasn’t sure if the family member had broken border rules.

“I feel fairly comfortable … we should be okay going forward,” Dr Young said.

Dr Young said “significantly increased” numbers of people entering the border from December 17 would increase the risk of Covid.

She declared people had one week to get fully protected.

To have everyone fully vaccinated by mid December they’ve really got to get that first dose this week,” Dr Young said.

When it comes to the Prime Minister’s overseas travel announcement, Dr Young said Queenslanders would have to see where they’re at with the roadmap.

Dr Young said how best to roll out booster shots would be discussed at a national level on Thursday.

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said police were preparing to manage an easing of restrictions.

He warned people against complacency and said people were attempting to enter the state based on the future roadmap.

Mr Gollschewski said the home quarantine trial gone “extremely well” and results were being compiled.

Originally published as Queensland records no new Covid cases as health workers get final vaccine deadline