QUEENSLAND authorities are bracing for a surge in COVID as Health Minister Yvette D’Ath reported 22 new local cases with 18 of them detected outside quarantine this morning.
The cases were recorded in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, the Darling Downs, West Moreton and the Wide Bay.
Ms D’Ath said these local cases spent up to a week while infectious in the community.
Queensland chief health officer Dr John Gerrard warned cases of the Omicron variant would increase in the coming days.
“We are identifying additional cases of Omicron hour by hour so they’ll be more cases tomorrow,” Dr Gerrard said.
“We are expecting a surge of the virus within weeks.”
Dr Gerrard encouraged people to wear masks indoors and on public transport.
He asked Queenslanders to get their vaccine booster doses when they could.
A mask mandate has not been announced but officials were “actively considering” it, Dr Gerrard said.
The rise in cases is attributed to the open borders, which have seen tens of thousands of travellers coming in from interstate hotspots.
There are currently 61,000 active border passes to enter Queensland.
South of the border, New South Wales recorded its worst daily caseload on record with 1742 cases.
The number of hospitalisations – tipped as the most important daily figure by NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet – increased from 166 to 192 for the day.
There are 26 people in intensive care.
