Queensland Cases Climb Ahead Of An Expected Surge

Queensland recorded a slight jump in infections with 2,222 new Covid cases.

It marks the largest number of daily cases Queensland has recorded since the pandemic began.

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There are currently 8,586 active cases in the state, with 1,809 people receiving care in their homes, while 103 cases are in hospital.

The good news is there is nobody being treated in intensive care.

Queensland’s chief health minister Dr John Gerrard warns number will continue to soar; however, ICU admissions will hopefully remain low amid increasing vaccination rates.

"In Queensland so far since this latest wave, we have seen no intensive care admissions and there have been no deaths reported," he stated.

"It is likely in the coming days there will be intensive care admissions ... the really big issue though in trying to balance this message is we’re not going to be talking about 8,000 cases in a few weeks, we’re going to be talking about tens of thousands of cases ... but the good thing is the vaccines are working and they’ve been clearly demonstrated to work."

With most cases likely be manageable, Gerrard says there are five things to do if you test positive to Covid:

• Self-isolate and tell those you live with to self-isolate and get tested.
• Answer health care questions you are asked when called by a health worker.
• Tell the people you’ve been in contact with to get tested and quarantine.
• Ensure you have supplies of food and medications for a fortnight.
• Look after yourself and keep a symptom diary.

Dr Gerrard has urged people who are Covid-positive to avoid going to hospital emergency departments unless they were suffering severe symptoms.

It follows "reports of people contacting triple-0 or going to an emergency department when they receive their text message because they think that’s what they should do."

“I want to remind Queenslanders our emergency departments and emergency services are there for just that – emergencies. If anyone has severe symptoms like chest pain or breathlessness, they should absolutely call for an ambulance.”

- Dr Gerrard

The health minister meanwhile encourages anyone with the virus to keep a "symptom diary'.

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