As the Omicron wave surges on the Gold Coast, the city's health service is dealing with eight wards full of COVID patients, and doctors warn they expect the tail of the peak to be 'very long'.
As the Omicron wave surges on the Gold Coast, the city's health service is dealing with eight wards full of COVID patients, and doctors warn they expect the tail of the peak to be "very long".
"In November we had one COVID ward which was not full, so it's gone from one to eight [wards] very rapidly," Dr Alcorn said. "In our planning we had [planned] for many, many more wards to an extra hospital, a makeshift hospital, if it became quite severe," she said. "We're really finding now that you need three vaccinations for a complete course, so it's no longer really a booster but to complete the first course requires three vaccinations," she said.As Brisbane readies for its peak in the next week or two, the director of COVID-19 services at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital , Andrew Redmond, said the hospital had so far fared well.
"There has been some cutting back of non-urgent care and that's going to have costs to the patients and to the healthcare service down the track," Dr Redmond said.Infectious diseases specialist Andrew Redmond said the RBWH had so far fared well.On Tuesday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said there were promising signs the impact on the hospital system would not be as severe as initially predicted.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Queensland marks increase in hospitalisations as state records 10,212 new COVID-19 casesThe Chief Health Officer said declining hospitalisation numbers on the Gold Coast indicate the region might have reached the 'peak' of the current wave. Brisbane had not hit its peak yet, he added. 9News
Read more »
When will Queensland reach its COVID-19 peak and what will happen next?Queensland's COVID-19 Omicron peak is reportedly just weeks away, but experts are warning mask-wearing, social distancing and pressure on the health system will continue for months.
Read more »
Queensland sets timeline for Omicron peak as hospitalisations ‘lower than expected’Queensland authorities believe people taking precautions has kept the number of hospitalisations much lower than expected during the current COVID-19 outbreak. COVID19 7NEWS
Read more »
NSW records uptick in COVID-19 cases as restrictions extendedNSW has EXTENDED COVID19 restrictions for another month - a move which Dominic Perrottet says will protect students returning to school and fast-track the return of elective surgeries. MORE: 9News
Read more »
Report reveals 11 COVID-19 deaths at two Brisbane aged care facilitiesAt least 50 Queensland aged care residents with COVID-19 have died during the Omicron wave, including seven in one Brisbane nursing home alone, new data shows.
Read more »
Why some parents are not sending their children to school during COVID-19As Queensland families wait to hear the government's back to school plan during the Omicron wave, many parents are ditching mainstream classrooms for homeschooling.
Read more »