Qld records 10 virus deaths, 5286 cases
Nick Gibbs |
There has been an increase in the number of school-aged children with COVID-19 in Queensland as the state records another 10 virus deaths and 5286 cases.
A total of 1587 children aged between five and 17 recorded positive results in the past 24 hours, up from 963 the previous day.
Infected school kids were generally experiencing mild symptoms, and the state is looking to NSW for guidance on what to expect in coming weeks, Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said.
“I wouldn’t read too much into a single day’s reading,” he said on Tuesday.
There had not been “any significant rise” in the number of children in hospital with COVID-19.
NSW students returned a week before their Queensland counterparts, and the southern state only experienced a “slight blip” of increases, Dr Gerrard said.
The latest deaths recorded in Queensland were people aged between their 60s and 90s, and did not include any aged care residents.
Hospital numbers are continuing to drop in the state, sitting at 462 including 34 patients in intensive care.
There are another 29 virus cases in private hospitals.
Meanwhile, the state’s remaining restrictions will be reviewed at the end of the month as case numbers from the Omicron wave continue to decline.
“We’ll make make a call then and also see what other states are doing,” Dr Gerrard said.
Masks restrictions are still in place in Queensland, and there is a mandate barring those without at least two vaccine doses from entering pubs, restaurants and cafes.
“If some of these restrictions were to be withdrawn … then that would be purely on the understanding that if there was a resurgence of infection, then masks would be reintroduced,” Dr Gerrard said.
The state’s double jab vaccination rate for ages 16 and above is now at 90.33 per cent, and just over 61 per cent of eligible people have had a booster.
AAP