Health authorities have confirmed an outbreak of Covid-19 on a major cruise ship docked at a major Australian port.
Authorities have confirmed an outbreak of Covid-19 on a prominent cruise ship docked in Brisbane.
The Coral Princess, which docked Sunday after leaving Port Douglas, has confirmed cases of Covid among both passengers and staff.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the ship followed pre-outbreak protocols.
“There were established protocols on what would happen if there was an outbreak and we are seeing an outbreak,” he said.
“Some of these passengers are retiring, they have chosen to isolate themselves at home or in other accommodation and we have supported them in doing so.”
“This was always going to happen; like the rest of the community, the virus is everywhere and there is no escape. ”
Passengers wanting to travel on the boat have been warned of the outbreak, and authorities say the choice to board is up to them.
The outbreak comes after state races to triple vaccination, with authorities predicting that the latest wave may be as powerful as the first.
While less than 40 percent of the population has had a flu shot, only 63 percent have had their third booster, well below the national rate of 70.7 percent.
Health officials have warned that the state is “moving towards the peak” of Omicron, and models indicate that the wave will “get worse” at least until the end of July.
Health Director John Gerrard said the BA. 4 and BA. 5 subvariants were now “well established in Queensland,” and hospitals felt the strain of more than 700 patients hospitalized by Covid-19 in the public and private sectors.
“The number of patients hospitalized with Covid in the public hospital has increased by 140 per cent over the last month in Queensland,” he said.
“The current wave is projected based on our latest model and is expected to continue to get worse until late July or early August.
“In the coming weeks there will be even more pressure on our hospitals.”
Dr Gerrard said Queensland had exceeded the number of Covid patients it had during Omicron Peak in January, prompting the government to launch a fourth Covid strike for residents aged 30 and over.
A combination of Covid, flu and staff shortages is creating increasing pressure on the state’s health care system.
There are more than 2,300 health personnel who have been laid off because of Covid in the state; this figure excludes those who have been ill with the flu or are on annual leave.
At a news conference last week, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said there were about 750 people hospitalized with Covid, the highest number of patients with Covid ever.
In addition, there are more than 100 cases of people hospitalized with the flu.
“If people can’t come in to see a GP, then they turn to our public hospital system and that’s why we’re seeing so much demand from our emergency services (emergency departments) and we’re seeing an increase in chronic diseases and cases more complex, ”Ms. D’Ath said.
“I saw Dr. Bruce Willett come out yesterday talking about the pressures on our GPS and he has over 30 years of experience as a GP.
“He said he’s never seen that kind of pressure on our GPs and that the pressure on our GPs means pressure on our hospital system.”
Growing pressure on Queensland’s health care system has led to the suspension of non-urgent elective surgeries at some of the state’s most prominent hospitals, such as Prince Charles and Redcliffe.
Deputy Prime Minister Steven Miles said hospitals were delaying elective surgeries so they could activate their Covid increase plans.
“I just urge people that if their hospital gets in touch with them and tells them that their planned care, their less urgent care, needs to be rescheduled, it’s because our doctors and nurses are working as hard as they can. they can to attend to them. more urgent cases, “he said.
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