Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has urged anyone with questions or concerns about COVID vaccines to speak to their GP,rather than listen to misinformation on social media.Credit:Dan Peled/Getty Images
“They were unvaccinated,and they have the virus,detected in hotel quarantine. So,it’s absolutely imperative that we continue to drive this vaccination program,” she said.
The state is on track to open its road borders to vaccinated domestic travellers from hotspot areas,without quarantine,before December 17. At present,vaccinated travellers from such areas can undertake home quarantine if they have access to suitable accommodation.
Almost 85.3 per cent of the state’s 16-plus population has now received at least one dose of a vaccine,with 74.51 per cent fully vaccinated.
Ms Palaszczuk said the state was still expecting to reach a 90 per cent vaccination rate in January,after which domestic and international border restrictions will ease further.
This has been bolstered in recent weeks by the announcement of rules locking unvaccinated people out of some sections of the Queensland economy from December 17,a decision that has drawn protests across the state and calls for more detail on how the restrictions will operate.
A ribbon-cutting event for the Smithfield Bypass near Cairns following the COVID press conference was met with a group of protesters with signs decrying “segregation” and “apartheid”.