New mask mandates for Xmas
A RECORD 186 new Covid cases were recorded in Queensland on Wednesday, but no patients are in hospital sick with it.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced more stringent face mask rules from 5am Thursday, meaning they were now mandatory in cinemas, theatres and for hospitality workers.
She said extending the mask mandate would “keep Queenslanders safe”. Across the state there are 447 active cases of Covid.
“We don’t want all of our cafes and restaurants going down,” she said. “We are going to see thousands of cases of Omicron (variant). We do not have large numbers of people in ICU (intensive care units) but these are early days.”
She urged eligible residents to get their booster shot as soon as eligible, saying the state was expected to reach its 90 per cent fully vaccination milestone by mid-January.
Health authorities have not moved to change guidelines requiring visitors to return a negative coronavirus test up to 72hours before their arrival into the state. But Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland may use rapid antigen testing from the new year for people across the border.
Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said only one Covid-infected person was in hospital and that was because they had multiple medical complications.
Dr Gerrard said the state had 79 cases of Omicron, it was the dominant strain and would soon overtake the Delta variant.
Ms Palaszczuk said 257,000 people had crossed the border from Victoria, NSW and the ACT since Monday.
To Queenslanders, Ms Palaszczuk said: “Respectfully, we want Queenslanders to have a safe Christmas and New Year. We need people to check-in, wear masks and be cautious where you’re going”.
Speaking at the daily Covid-19 briefing, Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said another officer had tested positive to the virus – but up to 40 cops could soon be released from isolation if they receive a negative result.
“We are now up to eight officers … that are positive, plus some family members. I understand the number of people in quarantine has not changed, 111, although I do understand 40 are eligible to leave today if they get a negative test.”
It is not known where the latest officer is stationed.
Four officers from Surfers Paradise, and two detectives from the northern Criminal Investigation Branch make up the remainder of the police cluster.
Police say they have been planning for Covid cases in the ranks, and operations are not impacted.
After an emergency national cabinet with state leaders, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia would introduce a new national definition of close and casual Covid contacts, but details won’t be known until next month. “We cannot have different rules in different places about what a close contact is and what a casual contact is.
“There is even an argument which says there shouldn’t be any requirements to have a casual contact definition at all when you’re dealing with such a high volume of cases.”
In a change to the booster program, he said GPs and pharmacists would get $10 extra from the federal government for administering the booster shot. It comes after a Bulletin front this week revealed the payments to dish out boosters were sending clinics broke.