Three more Covid deaths
QUEENSLAND recorded 17,445 new Covid cases and three deaths on Sunday.
It means there are now more than 200,000 active Covid cases in the Sunshine State.
A person in their 60s, another in their 80s and another person over the age of 100 were among the fatalities.
Queensland chief health officer John Gerrard said all of those who had died had other significant medical conditions.
He said two of the people who died had a single dose of the vaccine and one had received a double dose a few months ago.
“I use this opportunity to remind everyone of boosted vaccination,” he said.
He said that Covid-related deaths in Queensland so far had been “almost exclusively” people with medical problems.
“There have been relatively few surprises,” he said.
There are currently 49 people in ICU units throughout the state, with Dr Gerrard saying this number was “creeping up”.
A total of 670 people are now in hospital due to Covid.
Dr Gerrard suggested people who had concerning symptoms such as significant chest pain, coughing up blood, fainting and difficulty breathing should call an ambulance.
Those with milder symptoms, however, should see improvements after two to three days.
Dr Gerrard said modelling suggested that private and public hospitals should be able to absorb the increasing case numbers in the coming weeks.
Queensland Health has had 2643 hospital staff who have tested positive for Covid and 2835 public health staff in quarantine.
“The biggest pressure is the Gold Coast and south Brisbane hospitals, and there’s no doubt they’re under pressure,” Dr Gerrard said.
The local Queensland figures come as NSW saw a huge drop in its caseload.
There were 34,660 cases reported in the 24 hours to Sunday morning – down from 48,768 cases on Saturday and more than 63,000 on Friday and 20 deaths.
Victoria recorded 28,128 cases and 13 deaths.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said he believed the state’s vaccination rates might have dropped as people went away over the Christmas period.
“I would say to all of those who are unvaccinated, if you want to go to the pub, go get vaccinated,” he said.