Queensland’s top doctor says Covid ‘is just another virus’
Covid ‘is just another virus’ and Australians will learn to live with it like any other illness once they get over the fear of the unknown, according to one of the country’s top doctors.
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Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard on Tuesday said he expected anxiety about Covid-19 to ‘settle down’ now 92 per cent of the country is double vaccinated.
‘I think anxiety will settle once we realise it is just another virus,’ he said. ‘There is nothing mystical about [Covid] and in this case we have an effective vaccine.’
His comments – which came as Queensland confirmed a record 20,566 new Covid infections on Tuesday – mark a significant departure from his predecessor Dr Jeannette Young.
Dr Young used hyperbolic language to describe the virus – including calling it ‘insidious’ – while urging residents to follow her rules over 2020 and 2021.
But Dr Gerrard said his colleagues had come to realise coronavirus patients were no different to those they had treated in the past suffering from other viruses.
‘Once you see patients with Covid you start to see they’re no different to other patients we’re used to looking after,’ he said.
‘I have experienced that personally myself with Covid, I experienced that with Ebola in west Africa.’
Dr Gerrard said he expected Australians to fear the virus less once they conquer ‘the fear of the unknown’.
‘I think that anxiety will settle – it’s the fear of the unknown,’ he said.
Video: Omicron infections currently showing mild symptoms as QLD cases rise. (ABC NEWS)
Dr Gerrard last month warned panicked residents not to call Triple Zero or rush to emergency departments after receiving a Covid test.
He told them to monitor their symptoms at home because the disease will be mild for almost everyone.
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Dr Gerrard said he expected anxiety about Covid-19 to ‘settle down’ now 92 per cent of the country is double vaccinated. The Queensland CHO is pictured on December 13
‘Most people, particularly those who have been vaccinated, will be relatively well. The illness will be mild in the vast majority of you and can be managed at home,’ he said.
Queenslanders have in recent weeks started to get used to living with Covid after the state finally opened its borders to the rest of the nation in December.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who repeatedly imposed draconian lockdowns and restrictions on Brisbane and the Gold Coast over just one or a handful of cases, was also accused of fearmongering throughout the pandemic.
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Former Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk used dramatic rhetoric to describe coronavirus as they urged residents to follow their rules
Professor Emma McBryde, a disease modeller at the Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine at James Cook University, said premiers and chief health officers were guilty of over-reacting during outbreaks in Victoria and NSW over winter.
‘I think it’s really wearing thin these endless news cycles of chief health officers – and premiers for that matter – talking down to us,’ she told Daily Mail Australia in July.
‘They’re telling us what we should be doing and overreacting endlessly to Covid outbreaks and doing what they think might be popular at the time.
‘If you’re chief health officer and you haven’t got a health department handle on one case, you shouldn’t be showing your face in public as far as I’m concerned.’
Queensland records 20,466 new Covid-19 cases and one death as premier Annastacia Palaszczuk calls out prime minister Scott Morrison for criticising her decision to postpone the start of school
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has called out Scott Morrison as students prepare to head back to school
Ms Palaszczuk rejected the Prime Minister’s comments that delaying the return to the classroom would only delay the peak of the Omicron strain.
She said his comments weren’t accurate and stated she ‘acted on health advice’ when she pushed back the starting date of the school term by two weeks.
Covid cases in the Sunshine State doubled to 20,466 on Tuesday, but this was likely closer to the real figure as a computer glitch undercounted Monday’s 9,581 infections.
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Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has called out Prime Minister Scott Morrison as students prepare to return to the classroom
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Ms Palaszczuk (pictured speaking from floodwaters in Maryborough) defended the decision to push back the school start date by two weeks
One Queenslander with the virus, a man was aged in his 70s, died but he also had other medical complications.
There are 502 people in hospitals around the state, up from 419 on Monday, and 27 in ICU.
Queensland students will now return to the classroom on February 7, two weeks after the planned January 24 date.
The decision was made to allow more time for those aged between five and 11 to get vaccinated.
‘As we see the omicron wave rise, I mean, sometimes you do things which just pushes the wave further out,’ Mr Morrison said.
The Queensland premier hit back on Tuesday, saying her decision was made to keep children safer as cases continue to skyrocket.
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Queensland recorded 20,466 new cases on Tuesday with the state’s top doctor warning hospitalisations are on the rise
‘We don’t want children to miss out on learning, which is why that extra week has been added,’ she said.
‘But we also want to make sure that our children get vaccinated.’
Health Minister Yvette D’ath backed her comments, saying vaccinated children would help protect health workers.
‘There’s a lot of staff here with young children, if those young children quickly spread the virus over our peak, that’s more health workers offline,’ she said.
Queensland chief health officer John Gerrard warned hospitalisations were ‘beginning to escalate’, but that should not let that deter anyone from living their life.
‘The plateau of cases in hospital will be a week or so after that plateau in the community,’ he said, adding the worst spots were the Gold Coast, southern Brisbane, and the Sunshine Coast.
‘I think we should continue our lives as normal, that is our plan, that is our way forward.’
Dr Gerrard expected the next three weeks to bring the biggest spike of patients being admitted to hospital.
‘The next three weeks will be tough,’ he said.
‘There will be a lot of people admitted to hospital. There will be significantly more intensive care admissions than what we are seeing now.’
With Tuesday’s cases soaring above previous days, Ms D’Ath said there was likely more infections due to a software glitch on Monday in four pathology labs.
She said though the issue had been fixed, they hadn’t been able to yet break down all the numbers.
There are also fears for those who allegedly attended Covid-19 parties in the Gold Coast in the hopes catching the virus would make them immune.
‘We are very concerned with the spread on the Gold Coast,’ Ms Palaszczuk said.
‘A lot of people are ending up in our hospitals.’
Dr Gerrard echoed her statements while blasting those who have been attending the illegal parties.
‘There is one way, the best way to get immunity to this virus, is through vaccination, not through Covid parties,’ he said.
‘They are ridiculous, so please stop them. Please stop.’
Just over 87 per cent of Queenslanders have been double vaccinated with the 90 per cent milestone due to be hit by the end of the month.
Source: Thanks msn.com