Ms Palaszczuk said discussions with national cabinet on Friday included plans for extra hospital capacity in all states ahead of planned border openings once vaccination thresholds are met.

“I don’t think any hospital in the country would say they’re ready,” she said.

“Queensland has been preparing,and Dr Young had been preparing before this pandemic actually happened. She made sure we had the ventilators ready,a stockpile.

“These are very difficult times and this is where the co-operation of the federal government is needed with all the states,and that is what we saw last Friday at national cabinet.”

Ms Palaszczuk said work was now underway to identify those with a disability or who are receiving aged care in our hospitals “to transition them out and free up bed capacity”.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said she doubted plans drawn up at the start of the pandemic to turn the RNA Showgrounds and Brisbane Convention&Exhibition Centre into makeshift hospitals would be needed,saying she was confident the state’s hospitals were ready for any potential influx of cases.

“We’ve been dealing with this now for almost two years,so it’s ready,it will manage,” she said.

“But at the start of the pandemic,we did a lot of work with the Commonwealth and we made a lot of capacity by moving people under the NDIS and aged care to more appropriate long-term accommodation.

“That has come away and those numbers have started building up again,so we are starting all that work again.”

The Morning Edition newsletter is your guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights.Sign up here.