Queensland has recorded a slight rise in COVID-19 cases today, but health officials have confirmed some good news for the Gold Coast.
In the past 24 hours, there have been 13,551 new cases, up from 9,546 infections yesterday.
Sadly, the state has also recorded a further nine deaths.
Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said all were aged over 50.
“This included two people in their 50s, two in their 70s, three in their 80s, and two in their 90s,” he said.
“Of these, two were unvaccinated, one had received only one dose of vaccine, six had received two doses, and one had recevied the booster.”
The State’s top doctor has also confirmed that the number of people in hospital has dropped overnight, with the Gold Coast seeing the biggest difference.
“I can report that the number of cases in public hospitals has dropped in the past 24 hours,” Dr Gerrard said.
There are now 889 being treated for the virus in hospital, down from 928 the previous day.
“Most of that drop was seen in the Gold Coast, which is exactly as we expected,” he said.
“And we expect that drop to continue and the peak in other regions, most notably South East Queensland, to be sometime in the next seven days”.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the numbers confirm there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Gold Coast.
“We do believe that the peak on the Gold Coast is now coming down,” she said.
“But of course, we will see that peak in southeast Queensland happening very shortly.
“So my message is to the elderly… If you do not need to go out in the next couple of weeks just limit where you go”.
