Fears for vulnerable group as deaths climb

The latest fatalities were all aged over 70 – eight of whom were in aged care – while none had received booster shots.

It means the state’s total death toll over the course of pandemic now stands at 209, with 107 of these deaths coming in aged care.

It’s a figure that prompted a furious reaction from Health Minister Yvette D’Ath at Tuesday’s press conference.

Ms D’Ath said she had written to the federal government demanding to know why data on aged care booster programs remained unclear, while she also wanted answers on why state governments were being asked to find staff and resources to prop up the aged care system.

“This should be their responsibility, but they keep asking us to use our resources to do this work for them,” Ms D’Ath said.

“I am very concerned with what I’m hearing in aged care. I’m hearing of residents being locked behind doors for days on end and worried about adequate food and staff to provide healthy meals to residents.

“I’m worried about adequate staff. And I’m very concerned that there are not enough aged care residents out there getting the booster.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reported 7588 new infections during her morning press conference in Brisbane’s south, a figure down from Monday’s tally of 8580 new cases.

This continues a fall that began over the weekend, with infections again dropping to their lowest in almost a month.

Hospitalisations have, however, risen – although chief health officer John Gerrard said a slight jump in numbers is always expected as testing increases on Mondays.

“It’s better to look at a seven-day rolling average,” he said.

“I think as the week progresses we’ll continue to see a fall.”

There are 801 people being treated in the Queensland public hospital system, up from 744 in the previous 24 hours.

Cases being treated in private hospitals have fallen from 77 to 67, according to the latest available figures.

The number of people in intensive care has risen from 46 to 50, with 23 people ventilated.

Dr Gerrard said it was likely that the rate of Covid transmission had passed its peak in southeast Queensland, meaning hospital numbers in Brisbane, Ipswich, and the Sunshine Coast should fall faster in the next seven days.

Townsville was the next area of concern, Dr Gerrard said.

A return to in-person schooling next week is not expected to significantly shift case numbers higher, although Dr Gerrard said there remained a risk that students would become infected and pass the virus on to their grandparents.

Originally published as Fears for vulnerable group as Covid deaths climb in Qld