Queensland Drops Day-Five Testing For Travellers As Cases Spike

Queensland recorded a spike in cases on Tuesday with 1,158 new infections and six people in hospital with Covid symptoms.

Of the reported cases 257 are of the Omicron variety and the remaining infections the Delta strain.

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"We've got 26 LGAs that have shown positive cases in the last 24 hours," Chief Health Officer John Gerrard confirmed.

"Some new places that we've seen ... include Port Douglas, Cairns, Townsville and Roma."

- Dr Gerrard

Positive cases have jumped by 374 in the last 24-hour reporting period.

Meantime, Health minister Yvette D’Ath has announced that Queensland will ditch the five-day PCR test for interstate travellers, saying only 0.6 per cent of those tested on day five had returned positive results.

"That means that the Chief Health Officer advised us that we no longer need to continue these tests," she confirmed, "and that means immediately, starting from now."

"Anyone who is waiting in lines now for the day five test can leave … they will not be required to get day five tests from now," she said.

"Based on the data we now have of our first week, full week of testing, I welcome the advice of the chief doctor so that we can move away from that test."

- Minister D'Ath

Putting resources to better use, Dr Gerrard said the data showed the day five test was "unnecessary".

"We have been following the results of these tests for the past two weeks, since the borders opened on the 13th of December, to see how many people are actually testing positive from them," he said.

Currently, more than 86 per cent of Queenslanders aged over 16 are fully vaccinated.

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