The chief health officer has let slip details about Queensland's yet to be released back-to-school plan after confirming another 12 people had died of COVID-19.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Of the 12 deaths, four were unvaccinated.
One was aged in their 60s, two in their 70s, six in their 80s and three in their 90s.
Queensland has recorded 10,391 new cases with 833 patients currently being treated for COVID-19 in hospital and another 53 in intensive care.
CHO Dr John Gerrard said he expected hospitalisations to significantly decrease across the state by next week before inadvertently giving an insight into the state's return-to-school plan.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has delayed its announcement, saying she wants to wait and unveil the plan with Education Minister Grace Grace who caught the virus this week.
But Dr Gerrard on Saturday started providing details, saying masks would be mandatory from year seven and "encouraged" for students from year three before clamming up.
"But I am jumping the gun here. Let's wait for the plan to be released," he said.
"I probably shouldn't be speaking about that until it is official."
Dr Gerrard expected the school plan to be released "very soon".
"I think there has been a lot of concern about this plan but the plan is pretty common sense," he said.
"There isn't anything in the plan that will shock Queenslanders. It won't be anything Queenslanders will need to worry about.
"I think parents should not be too anxious about this plan."
He said hospitalisation rates had been significantly less than expected across the state and believed the trend would continue even with schools set to reopen.
"We know that when schools go back there will be some spike (in COVID-19 cases)," he said.
"But we know that young people generally have a very mild illness."
But Dr Gerrard warned: "This is the peak, not the end, we are in the middle.
"The unknown is what happens as those (hospitalisation) numbers decline, what the tail of that looks like.
"It's not totally clear what the next phase is, but the numbers will decline substantially."
Dr Gerrard said the state's older age group were the most vulnerable with the virus now "right across Queensland".
He urged Queenslanders - particularly the elderly - to get a booster shot.
"That (older age group) will be the last group (affected) but clearly the most important because they are the sickest and the most likely to experience complications," he said.
"Now this is the group that is most at risk with hospitals (and) the booster is extremely effective particularly against serious complications.
"It is not too late to get your booster. That third dose is quite critical particularly ... as we are moving into that age group and they are becoming the most affected."
The latest figures show that 91.93 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have had one dose of a vaccine, while 89.40 per cent have had two.
Australian Associated Press
