Covid Qld: Latest case numbers as vaccinated given major boost in optimism

Queensland has recorded 22,069 new Covid-19 cases, with 30 people in intensive care and eight on ventilators, as the chief health officer says the number of hospitalisations confirms the unvaccinated are nine times more likely to require treatment.

Queensland has recorded 22,069 new Covid-19 cases, with 30 people in intensive care and eight on ventilators, as stark new data proves just how effective the vaccine has been for the population.

Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said the data coming through now – with 525 cases now requiring treatment in hospital – was making it very clear that people needed to be vaccinated.

“You are nine times more likely to end up in hospital if you are unvaccinated than if you are triple vaxxed,” he said.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath says the details surrounding the hospitalisations reflect the state of vaccinations in Queensland, and urged people to get their booster shots.

“If you are not vaccinated out there, the clear evidence out there based on hospitalisation rates is you are nine times more likely to end up in hospital than someone who is triple-vaxxed,” she said.

“The evidence is clear: Go get vaccinated.”

She said people could still go out, but take precautions like wearing a mask and socially distance.

“The Premier has said that it is the most vulnerable in the community that are most at risk and that we want to protect them and we simply recommend that they may want to consider, not staying at home and not moving, but to limit going into those areas that are heavily populated,” she said.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Dr Gerrard said he particularly wanted over 50s to ensure they had their boosters.

“We know if we didn’t have a vaccination program as we’ve had in the past 12 months here in Queensland, the health system would clearly be overwhelmed,” he said.

He said authorities were most interested now in hospitalisation rates rather than the numbers of people testing positive for Covid in the community.

He said authorities “always expected” that testing would decrease as the testing system reached capacity and as people stopped getting tested.

“We always knew this would happen with the pandemic,” he said.

“What we look at now as we go forward is hospitalisation rates.”

The state is inching closer to 90 per cent fully vaccinated with 91.23 per cent having had their first dose.

More than 748,000 boosters have now been administered across the state.

The Health Minister defended messaging from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Dr Gerrard around who should consider staying at home right now.

She said both had been clear that they had been speaking to vulnerable people.

But she added: “We still want people to work home where they can because, again, that reduces the risk of transmission in the workplace that then gets taken into the home.”

Ms D’Ath said Queensland was not mandating the booster dose “at the moment”.

She said people were coming out to get their doses as quickly as possible now and authorities were making it easier for health workers to get their boosters as soon as they qualified.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Ms D’Ath said claims Acting Ambulance Commissioner Craig Emery was “missing in action” while on annual leave was not true.

She said he had been involved in all major briefings despite him officially being on leave and that there was another person acting as commissioner right now.

Ms D’Ath continued criticism of “point-of-care tests” being provided by the Commonwealth.

She said they were not alleviating testing lines because they needed to be given at the testing centres, and then people had to wait around for 20 minutes to get their result.

“These tests were meant to alleviate pressures, not add pressures,” she said, adding that she would be discussing the tests with other health ministers later Wednesday.

“I suspect every health Minister right now is thinking I might be better off using the point-of-care test internally for the public health system as opposed to the frontline in the public testing lines because it’s just going to increase the burden, not help it,” Ms D’Ath said.

She said if the Commonwealth could do any more to increase RAT tests, then they should.

She said businesses needed them to get staff back to work and the state would like to be able to test health worker close contacts who were having to go to work.

Four new local government areas have recorded infections, meaning only two LGAs in the state are now case-free.

It comes as the chief health officer has given vaccinated Queenslanders major cause for optimism, saying they should go about their lives as normal despite escalating case numbers.

How to register your positive RAT result

Most states now provide an online form where you can register a positive Rapid Antigen Test result.

In some states, registration for positive for Rapid Antigen Test is complulsory. You will need to register the result or face a fine.

Here’s how to do it in the states where it is available.

• Register in Victoria

• Register in New South Wales

• Register in Queensland

• Register in South Australia

• Register in Northern Territory

• Register in Tasmania

 

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.

Dr 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.”

He said “notable exceptions” to the “go about your lives as normal” included those who were unvaccinated, immunocompromised and elderly.

Originally published as Covid Qld: Latest case numbers as vaccinated given major boost in optimism