Queensland has recorded 86 new cases of COVID as the chief health officer warned daily infections numbers would be “thousands in January”.
Dr John Gerrard said modelling was being prepared but based on the current trend of cases doubling every 48 hours, the state could expect to see a rapid escalation in weeks.
It was also announced that the two-week quarantine period for fully vaccinated close contacts of a COVID case would be halved to seven days from tomorrow.
However unvaccinated close contacts would have to remain in isolation for 14 days.
Dr Gerrard said the change was in keeping with the national standard, with testing at day zero and day five.
Only eight days after the borders were reopened, Omicron now accounts for two cases to every one of Delta.
Dr Gerrard said the variant had become the dominant strain.
The latest coronavirus cases were spread across the same locations of previous days which were Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Townsville and Toowoomba, with a new region added after COVID was detected in Emerald.
But Dr Gerrard said the vast majority of patients had mild symptoms and only one woman had been placed in ICU as a precaution because of underlying health problems.
Seventy-five patients were in hospital, but most were for reasons relating to quarantine.
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The latest update comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison prepares to meet with state and territory leaders on Wednesday to discuss rising COVID-19 cases.
Up for discussion is whether to mandate masks across indoor settings and the time frame of booster shots.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is reportedly looking at whether to require people to receive a booster shot before they’re considered fully vaccinated.
States including NSW are pushing for the interval between second and third shots to be cut further from five months.
University of Melbourne epidemiologist Nancy Baxter backs reducing the interval at least to four months.
“More people getting it (the virus) means more people are going to transmit it and more people are going to have that risk of developing serious illness even if they’ve been vaccinated,” she told ABC radio on Tuesday.
“We know that boosters help get around that.”
Deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud reassured people Australia had enough boosters despite concerns pharmacies were struggling to secure sufficient supplies to match demand.
“Over the coming weeks we will get a better picture (about Omicron), then the premiers will be able to make decisions on mandates around masks,” he told the Nine Network.
Mr Morrison earlier said the government would follow the health advice when it came to masks. Different parts of the country have different rules.
Masks are encouraged but not mandated indoors in NSW. In Queensland, they’re mandatory in some retail settings and hospitals, but encouraged elsewhere.
Tasmania has brought in an indoor mask mandate. Victoria still requires them in retail settings.
There’s also a push to make rapid antigen tests free amid lengthy delays at traditional testing sites as cases increases and people rush to obtain negative results required for interstate travel.
“We need a certain nimbleness that we haven’t had to date in terms of thinking about how we do alter the testing procedures,” Professor Baxter said.
She favoured incorporating rapid antigen tests into Australia’s existing nose and throat swab screening regime at state-run clinics.
NSW reported 3057 new cases – a new high – and two deaths on Tuesday. There are 284 people in hospital with the virus, 39 in intensive care.
In Victoria, 1245 new infections and six additional deaths were recorded, with 392 people in hospital and 73 in intensive care.
On Monday, South Australia reported 105 new infections while there were 59 in Queensland. The ACT recorded 13 cases and Tasmania three.
Three new infections were also confirmed in the Northern Territory as it extended a lockdown in the town of Tennant Creek.
-with AAP
