Queensland Covid cases expected to 'double every 48 hours'
Queensland has recorded 59 new cases of coronavirus, with the Chief Health Officer warning the caseload is on trend to double every 48 hours.
The new cases emerged after 13,595 tests in the 24 hours to 6.30am on Monday. Only one unvaccinated case has been seriously ill, but is recovering.
Chief Health Officer John Gerrard told reporters on Monday the cases were “consistent with what we’ve been seeing in the past week”.
“We’re seeing roughly a doubling of the number of cases every 48 hours,” he said.
“So we do expect the cases to increase significantly and the trend to continue as we head into January.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk expects a jump in cases with 197,546 border passes issued for people from interstate Covid-19 hotspots in the past week.
She's recommending people wear face masks in all indoor settings, but they're only mandated in essential retailers and hospitals.
"We strongly recommend that you wear your mask in an indoor setting, so we're not mandating it but I will be wearing my mask when I go in and out of cafes or restaurants, and when you're sitting there you can take your mask off," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"This is just an added precaution until we get to that 90 per cent fully vaccinated."
Griffith University graduation linked to Omicron cluster
Of the 59 new local cases, 16 were linked to a known case, nine were interstate-acquired and 24 were under investigation.
Dr Gerrard said 13 cases are Omicron and eight cases are Delta, with the other 38 unknown.
More than 2670 people attended the Griffith University graduation ceremony for nurses and paramedics at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition on Monday last week, with the event suspected of hosting an Omicron cluster.
"Some of these cases have been identified as Omicron, so it's likely that the whole episode will be the Omicron cluster," the chief health officer said.
There are 66 people in hospital and 32 being treated at home, but only one Covid-19 patient has been moderately ill during the last week, but she was unvaccinated and is recovering.
The latest figures on Sunday showed 84.5 per cent of Queenslanders are fully vaccinated and 89.6 per cent have had at least one jab.
with AAP
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
