Queensland’s Covid vaccine mandate ended overnight, meaning thousands of un-jabbed Australians can return to pubs, restaurants and theatres.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made a significant announcement about Covid-19 regulations last month, expressing gratitude to the people of Queensland for their efforts in maintaining public safety.
Many establishments, which had previously only permitted entry to vaccinated individuals since the mandate was introduced on December 17, will now be welcoming customers regardless of their vaccination status.
This relaxation of rules applies to a variety of venues such as pubs, clubs, cafés, restaurants, theme parks, casinos, cinemas, weddings, showgrounds, galleries, libraries, museums, and stadiums.
Vaccine requirements will still apply to visitors and workers in vulnerable settings including hospitals, aged and disability care, prisons, schools and early childhood centres.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) has ended the controversial vaccine mandate for most venues
No changes are being made to mask-wearing rules, which are needed in taxis, rideshares, public transport and in vulnerable settings.
t if you’re an adult you need to be vaccinated with at least two doses.’
No changes are being made to mask-wearing rules, which are needed in taxis, rideshares, public transport and in vulnerable settings. But you no longer need to be vaccinated to go to a Queensland pub next week (pictured, an Airline Beach bar)
Acting Premier Steven Miles assured Queenslanders their ‘world leading’ health system was doing its best to cope with a second Omicron wave of COVID-19 after this week recording the fourth-highest volume of triple zero calls.
There were 597 patients with coronavirus in Queensland hospitals on Wednesday – the highest number during the current wave – with 16 in intensive care.
There were also another 10 deaths and 9176 new cases.
However the 54,535 cases active in the state on Wednesday was the lowest number in three weeks.
Mr Miles backed Queensland’s health system but welcomed Opposition leader Anthony Albanese’s urgent care clinic plan, saying it would take pressure off hospital emergency departments.
Mr Albanese on Wednesday outlined a trial of 50 urgent care clinics across the country in order to treat injuries and illnesses that were not life-threatening.
‘We need to consider all those solutions to what is not just a problem with our emergency departments or ambulance service but a problem with our entire health system including primary care, GPs, aged care and disability support,’ Mr Miles said.
Mr Miles urged Queenslanders to avoid emergency departments if they could, steering people toward the 13HEALTH advice phone line serviced by nurses.
He said the new Omicron wave and the unavailability of bulk billing GPs, along with more than 3000 health workers in quarantine had over-burdened the hospitals.
However, Mr Miles said the response time for code one calls was still just under nine minutes and “99 to 100 per cent” of emergency department patients were seen within two minutes.
‘That’s world leading,’ he said.
‘We have one of the best health systems in the world but it is under pressure.’
However, the state opposition claimed Queensland’s ambulance service was the ‘worst in the country’.
Liberal National Party state leader David Crisafulli said a parliamentary Question on Notice revealed Queensland ambulances lost more than 13,000 hours ramped outside hospitals in March and May last year and ‘routinely’ exceeded 10,000 hours in 2021.
He said on average 38 per cent of Queensland ambulances were ramped across the state, making it the highest in the country compared to Western Australia (37.3 per cent), Victoria (33.9 per cent) and NSW (16.8 per cent).
‘If the state government doesn’t start listening, it’s only going to get worse,’ Mr Crisafulli said.
