A new visitors mild system for COVID-19 recommendation has been launched in Queensland because the state's chief well being officer's pandemic powers expire.
There at the moment are three ranges of COVID-19 recommendation in Queensland to recognise and reply as the chance of the virus will increase or decreases.
So what does the visitors mild system imply?
A information to the extent of COVID-19 danger
Queensland is at present at inexperienced, which means there is not a COVID-19 wave and residents ought to keep house in the event that they're sick, maintain updated with their vaccines, and take a speedy take a look at in the event that they develop methods.
Amber means Queenslanders might want to put on a masks in well being care settings, indoors if they can not social distance, on public transport, in the event that they're older, medically in danger or round people who find themselves susceptible.
They need to additionally take a speedy take a look at each two days if somebody in your family has the virus.
In the event that they do take a look at optimistic, the recommendation is to register the end result, put on a masks for seven days, keep at house till they're nicely once more and keep away from visiting healthcare settings.
Pink is the highest tier the place masks should be worn indoors.
"We can not proceed to dwell at a steady state of hyper-vigilance, so we'd like to have the ability to change our strategy relying on virus transmission ranges in the neighborhood," Dr John Gerrard mentioned.
"The brand new COVID-19 visitors mild system will present Queenslanders with a information to the extent of danger posed by the virus and supply recommendation on when they need to take into account rising their private protecting measures, equivalent to carrying masks indoors, and once they can calm down just a bit bit."
How will the chance be assessed?
Gerrard mentioned the measures the federal government will use to calculate danger embrace:
- The variety of optimistic PCR and speedy exams.
- The variety of hospitalised sufferers with COVID-19 and people in ICU.
- The variety of optimistic ends in high-risk teams like aged care residents and employees.
- The variety of ambulance calls referring to the virus.
- Studies of variants.
- What the virus is doing in different states.
Why is it altering?
The visitors mild system is being launched as Gerrard's pandemic powers come to an finish from midnight tonight.
Gerrard mentioned he's "very comfortable" to be dropping them.
"We're not craving energy. It is fairly onerous to have the accountability of getting these powers," he mentioned.
'We'll expertise one other wave'
Gerrard has warned there will probably be one other wave of COVID-19 within the coming weeks.
"Group transmission of the virus has remained low for about two months now; nonetheless, the virus will in all probability stay with us ceaselessly," he mentioned.
"The chief well being officer of Victoria has indicated that they could be at the beginning of one other wave there - we have now not detected such a wave in Queensland at this stage.
"It's fairly potential that we are going to expertise one other wave within the coming weeks.
"We will probably be ready if and when such a wave arrives."
The subvariants and mutations of COVID-19