29 June 2021
Statement attributable to a Queensland Health spokesperson
Community case
We would like to thank every single Queenslander who has come forward for testing today.
Genome sequencing has confirmed The Prince Charles Hospital worker has the Delta variant. Further sequencing work is being undertaken to determine if it clusters with any known cases.
It is vital that Queenslanders follow the lockdown procedure for the next three days to ensure we can supress any spread of this variant.
Contact tracing and fever clinics
If you have any COVID-19 symptoms at any time, no matter how mild, you should immediately get tested for COVID-19.
There are fever clinics established on Magnetic Island, in Townsville, and Palm Island. Testing capacity has also been boosted in South East Queensland.
Anyone who has recently travelled to Queensland from interstate is urged to monitor the contact tracing list for new and updated exposure venues in NSW, VIC, WA, NT and New Zealand.
We are asking all Queenslanders to regularly monitor the list of exposure venues on the Queensland Health website and follow the public health advice.
COVID-19 vaccinations
To date, we’ve administered more than 535,500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Queensland Health has administered two doses of vaccine to more than 57,000 of all – not just frontline – staff. A total of 66% of all staff have received at least one dose. This does not include staff who may have been vaccinated by their GP.
By April this year, we had reached practical completion of Phase 1a. This means that those who were initially identified as most at risk of exposure to COVID-19 have been offered a chance to be vaccinated. This included high-risk frontline workers, quarantine and border workers, and some police officers.
Anyone in Priority 1a or 1b, regardless of age, can also access their vaccine at any Queensland Health vaccination sites. Anyone identifying in this cohort is given priority.
We are currently experiencing high demand for vaccinations, particularly across South East Queensland.
We are working on increasing capacity through the establishment of additional vaccination locations over coming weeks. This will provide more opportunities for Queenslanders to receive their first and second doses.
For example, in Logan, we’re expanding our capacity significantly with the reopening of the community vaccination hub at the Logan Entertainment Centre from 6 July, so even more Queenslanders can get vaccinated.
By moving the Logan Hospital clinic to the Logan Entertainment Centre, we will triple vaccination capacity, from 450 appointments per day up to 1500 per day over the coming weeks.
We continue to encourage people to register their interest. Registering your interest is the fastest way to make an appointment. To register your interest, visit www.health.qld.gov.au/vaccinebookings and you will be invited to make an appointment once appointments are available in your location.
Once registered, you will be sent an invitation to book an appointment in your local area when an appointment becomes available. Dependent on your priority status and demand in your region, you may receive an invitation to book within 24 hours or it may take several days or weeks to receive your invitation. You may need to wait longer to book at the locations closest to you, if they are experiencing higher demand.
Our end goal is to vaccinate as many Queenslanders as possible. Everyone who wants to be vaccinated will be able to get vaccinated. Nobody will miss out.
We thank everyone who has come forward to get vaccinated.