CHO issues ‘keep calm, carry on’ message despite Covid case warning

Despite escalating Covid case numbers, the chief health officer has advised healthy, vaccinated Queenslanders to go about their lives as normal, declaring the state is in an enviable position because of high vaccination rates.

Queenslanders must go about their lives as normal despite escalating case numbers and warnings more people will suffer from Covid-19 over coming weeks, the chief health officer has declared.

Authorities are expecting case numbers to reach a “short, sharp peak” in the first week of February when the health system is expected to come under the most pressure.

Queensland recorded 20,566 cases on Tuesday – some of which were discovered on Monday but were not reported due to a technical glitch – and one death, a man in his 70s who had other medical complications.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard says healthy vaccinated Queenslanders should try to live their lives as normal. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Chief health officer John Gerrard said Queensland was in an enviable position with just 27 patients in intensive care units and six on ventilators across the state.

“To put that in context, I was in Tokyo at the beginning of the pandemic dealing with the Diamond Princess outbreak where we had 700 people infected with Covid-19, of which over 30 were on ventilators in intensive care units,” he said.

“In Queensland we have well over 100,000 people that are infected … and we have just 27 people in intensive care units.

“The lesson is the vaccines are working, they’re specifically working in preventing people from getting critically ill and reducing hospital admissions.”

Dr Gerrard said it proved people must get vaccinated to “continue our lives as normal” despite rising case numbers and hospitalisations.

“What is happening here is inevitable,” he said.

“We‘ve made this minor change at the start of the school year, but I think as far as possible, most of us should be continuing our lives as normal.

“As far as possible I think most of us should be continuing our lives as normal, I don’t think we should be allowing our lives to be disrupted too much at this stage by this virus.”

He said “notable exceptions” included those who were unvaccinated, immunocompromised and elderly.

Queensland Health was unable to say how many patients in the intensive care unit were unvaccinated.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirmed Queensland was sticking with its reopening road map – which stipulates life will move a step closer to normality when the double-dose vaccination rate reaches 90 per cent within the next few weeks.

“People from interstate hotspots, at 90 per cent double dose, still have to be fully vaccinated but will not have to do either a rapid antigen test or a PCR test and international arrivals who are fully vaccinated won’t need to quarantine,” she said.

There are 91.16 per cent of Queenslanders with one dose and 87.85 per cent with two doses.

The state administered 6539 vaccinations to children aged five to 11 receive on Monday.

Queensland has now received more than 400,000 rapid antigen tests and handed out 15,798 kits to people at testing sites.

People lining up for Covid-19 vaccinations at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre at South Brisbane. Picture: Tara Croser

Ms D’Ath said the Commonwealth had provided some point-of-care rapid tests instead of kits people could take away, which she said “adds to the administrative burden” on testing clinics because health staff had to administer them.

“If I can get the Commonwealth to do anything it is give us more of those self-assessment kits for people to take home to take pressure off our testing clinics,” she said.

The state’s top doctor also condemned “utterly ridiculous” Covid-19 parties – held to spread the virus and supposedly gain immunity.

“There is one way, the best way to get immunity to this virus is through vaccination not through Covid parties – they are ridiculous so please stop them,” he said.

Dr Gerrard said there were 12 children admitted to the Queensland Children’s Hospital with Covid-19 and one is in intensive care.

It is understood some of the children in hospital have medical or other issues unrelated to the virus.

Originally published as CHO issues ‘keep calm, carry on’ message despite Covid case warning