Queensland has recorded another 10,953 cases overnight as authorities introduce a number of new measures to try and slow the spread of Omicron.
The state government is now looking at delaying the return to school, scrapping test requirements for freight drivers, imploring workplaces to have staff work from home and developing an online reporting system for those returning positive Rapid Antigen Tests at home.
🚨Attention Queenslanders🚨
Now is the time to redouble our efforts, please:
1️⃣ Stay at home if you are unwell
2️⃣ Work and study from home where you can
3️⃣ Wear your mask when you are out and about
4️⃣ Maintain social distancing
5️⃣ Get vaccinated, including your booster shot— Yvette D'Ath MP (@YvetteDAth) January 7, 2022
The number of hospitalisations has gone up to 327 throughout the state, with 14 people in the ICU and three requiring ventilators.
There were 36,492 PCR tests done over the last reporting period.
The state government is therefore about to start a hotline for people to call if they’ve returned a positive Rapid Antigen Test at their home.
That will be up and running while authorities work on an online system.
“We have been working around-the-clock on this and they are actually working on a program that it will be web-based in the not too distant future,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
“I just want to give people an assurance that that is being worked on.”
The Premier’s delivered some key messages to parents concerned about school going back, as well as employers worried about staff numbers and freight drivers in today’s Covid-19 update.
Firstly, discussions are underway on a state and federal level to potentially delay the start of the school year by one or two weeks so that it doesn’t coincide with the peak of our covid outbreak.
“So we are looking at a one to two week delay in relation to the return-to-school,” Premier Palaszczuk said in Friday morning’s update.
“We will give you more concrete decisions on this over the coming days, but I just want to assure parents that that is definitely not on the agenda to send primary school children unvaccinated to school if we are in the peak of this wave.
“This is a common sense measure and, like I said, that modelling is happening and I’ll update people about that,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
I want to assure Queensland parents there will be no return to primary school at the peak of the Omicron wave. We are looking at the option of delaying the return to school. #covid19
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 7, 2022
The Premier is also urging employers around the state to have their staff work from home wherever possible to keep workforces ticking over.
The rules for freight drivers are also being adjusted so that the supply of food and other products can continue over the coming weeks, in what’s supposed to become a major health emergency.
In addition to those updates, Queenslanders are still being required to wear a mask while out and about and avoid large crowds particularly if they’re vulnerable.
Vaccinations are still being encouraged too, especially here on the Gold Coast, where our double vaccination rates remain below 90 percent.
More to come.
