The number of COVID-19 cases at Queensland state schools increased by 55 per cent in one week.
Education Minister Grace Grace told ABC Radio Brisbane that there were 9,000 cases recorded in the week beginning March 7, which rose to 14,000 last week.
It comes after mask mandates in schools and indoor settings were lifted from March 4.
Ms Grace said prior the spike, cases in state schools had been reducing weekly for about five weeks.
"I think the removal of masks, the opening up of activities that schools could do from the fourth of March obviously meant we were going to see more cases," she said.
"We're dealing and working with [Queensland] Health all of the time and I've got a meeting tomorrow just to update on where we are at, do we need to do anything," she said.
Ms Grace said the spike did not mean mask mandates in schools would necessarily be reintroduced, but schools could make their own decisions.
"[Masks] are very disruptive, it's not something you take lightly, face-to-face learning in classrooms without masks is so much better than with masks," she said.
"We’ll take the health advice ... I'm meeting tomorrow with my department and Health and we'll look at that.
"Whether we reintroduce masks or not, I don't know whether the figures would necessarily compel us to do that, but we'll take the health advice."
Ms Grace said they would not discourage people from wearing masks.
"They are a great protection, and we'll always take the health advice about whether we should introduce that again in schools," she said.
Schools go their own way and reintroduce masks
Mask-wearing restrictions have also been reintroduced at Brisbane Girls Grammar School for students and teachers when they are moving around the school or gathered in big groups.
Students do not have to wear masks if they are seated in class, and teachers do not have to wear masks while teaching if they can distance themselves by 1.5 metres.
The school's principal Jacinda Euler said they had reintroduced masks given the increase in positive cases for the last .
"We understand that masks are effective in reducing ... the spread of COVID-19. We just feel we're getting to the end of term [and] people are quite fatigued; anything that we can do to provide them comfort," she said.
She said typically about 160 students, or about 9 per cent of the school population, were confirmed cases each day.
"About 3 per cent of our staff, although that’s starting to increase again; so, we might typically have 10 to 12 staff away each day either because they’re COVID positive or because they’re in isolation with their family," Ms Euler said.
“We’re following all the usual protocols, obviously trying to remind people of hand washing, distancing — all of those things.
Ms Euler said the absences were creating challenges for teachers to ensure students kept up with the curriculum.
"It’s very complicated for staff, catching students up, trying to teach remotely, perhaps they’re teaching from home in isolation themselves, so it’s about being very, very flexible, it’s about managing people’s expectations," she said.
"We have to understand we can’t replicate what we would normally deliver."
Concerns over low vaccination rate among primary school children
It comes as Queensland recorded 8,881 new COVID-19 cases and nine deaths in the past 24 hours.
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'ath said there had been a 15 per cent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases reported in the past week.
She said there were more cases of the BA.2 COVID-19 variant and urged Queenslanders to get vaccinated or get their booster shot, and inoculate their children.
"Our 5 to 11-year-old vaccination rates are only at 43.15 per cent; we need these rates to be higher," she said.
"We are seeing with BA.2 that it's more of the young people getting this, right from primary age up to 30 year olds getting that BA.2 variant, and it's highly contagious."
Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said they would continue to monitor the situation but they do not plan to reintroduce public health measures to deal with current BA.2 wave until they had a "better sense of what it's like".
"I would just remind everyone, people should feel very comfortable to wear a mask if they want to in crowded environments if they wish, inlcuding school children," Dr Gerrard said.
Ms Grace said the distribution of COVID-19 cases across prep to year 12 students had been fairly consistent and she urged parents to vaccinate their children.
"I am concerned about the vaccination rates for the five to 11-year-olds," she said.
Ms Grace urged people who were sick not to attend school or work, and to follow the health advice.
