December 13, 2021
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Monday there were 10 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the State, but only one was locally acquired.
Nine cases were identified in hotel quarantine; seven infections were acquired interstate and two overseas.
One of the new cases has been in the community on the Sunshine Coast from December 8-12.
There are currently 56 active cases of COVID-19 in Queensland, with 28 people in hospital.
Over the past two days, Queensland Health has issued public health alerts for new contract tracing locations at Bulimba, Cairns City, Carindale, Clayfield, Coolum Beach, Eight Mile Plains, Eumundi, Hamilton, Morningside, Sunnybank and Upper Mount Gravatt (see Exposure Locations link, below).
Monday also marked the start of Queensland’s “new normal”, with fully vaccinated interstate travellers from COVID-19 hotspots no longer required to enter quarantine although Border Passes (link below) are necessary.
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The State Government announced major changes to COVID response measures on Saturday.
The new measures, which take effect on January 1, affect how close contacts of confirmed positive cases are handled.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the new measures were consistent with Australia’s national plan for reopening.
She said the restrictions will depend upon vaccination status.
Requirements for CASUAL contacts from January 1:
- Get tested immediately and quarantine until receiving a negative result
- Encouraged to wear a mask outside the home for 14 days
Requirements for VACCINATED CLOSE contacts from January 1:
- Quarantine for seven days
- Get a test immediately and on Day 5
- Move out of quarantine on Day 8 (if tested negative)
- Precautionary measures including mask wearing outside the home and avoiding high-risk settings for Days 8-14
- Vaccinated household contacts of close contacts do not need to quarantine, but will need a test on Day 1 and Day 5
- Unvaccinated household contacts of close contacts will need to follow the same quarantine and testing requirements as the close contact, unless they can separate from the contact
Requirements for UNVACCINATED CLOSE contacts from January 1:
- Quarantine for 14 days
- Get tested immediately and on Days 5 and 12
- Vaccinated household contacts of close contacts will need to quarantine for seven days, and get a test on Days 1 and 5, unless they can separate from the contact.
- Unvaccinated household contacts of close contacts will need to follow the same quarantine and testing requirements as the close contact, unless they can separate from the contact.
From now until January 1, current requirements for close and casual contacts continue to apply.
External links:
- COVID-19 Exposure Locations
- Queensland Border Passes
- COVID-19 Hotspots and Border Zone Areas
- Business Restrictions from December 17
- Public Health and Social Measures Linked to Vaccination Status Direction (in effect from 5:00am AEST on Friday, December 17, 2021)
- Where To Get Tested
- Where To Get Vaccinated
[UPDATED]
