Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath has flagged quarantine requirements for close contacts of COVID-19 cases could be scrapped after the state passes the peak of its Omicron wave.
Ms D'Ath said she would meet with Chief Health Officer John Gerrard this afternoon after Victoria and New South Wales announced similar moves today.
"What I want to hear from the Chief Health Officer is how he's feeling about the pressures on the health system," she said.
"Obviously, we know lifting close contacts will help as far as getting more people back at work — both in the health system and in the broader community — and help businesses and the economy.
"But we also need to balance that with the fact that when you allow more people who are living in a household with a positive case out in the community, we will see an increase in positive cases.
"That is a given, and everyone needs to be prepared for that when there are changes to the close contact rules."
Currently, those who have spent more than four hours with a COVID-19 case in a household, care facility or similar setting must quarantine for seven days.
Close contacts must take a rapid antigen test (RAT) or PCR test on day 6 and return a negative result to leave quarantine.
Any changes to those restrictions will likely only happen after the peak of the Omicron BA.2 sub variant wave in Queensland.
"New South Wales and Victoria have always been a little bit ahead of us as far as those waves [go]," Ms D'Ath said.
The chief health officers of New South Wales and Victoria have said the Omicron wave has already peaked in their states.
D'Ath waits for more detail as COVID cases continue to climb
New cases in Queensland have been increasing in recent days, with 8,995 recorded in the latest reporting period.
The state has a total of 43,377 active cases, while six deaths were reported today.
Newly announced rules in New South Wales mean close contacts won't need to quarantine, but will be required to take a daily RAT test and wear a mask indoors for seven days.
They will also be required to notify their employer and stay away from aged care and hospital settings.
The rules are set to be similar in Victoria, but close contacts will only need to take a RAT test on five of the seven days.
In both states, those who test positive for COVID will still need to isolate for seven days.
Ms D'Ath said while she was interested to hear more details, a decision was unlikely to be made today.
"I'm just waiting to hear from New South Wales and Victoria what the details are as far as the lifting of any quarantine requirements and what will be required of individuals who are living in a household where someone's positive and what they'll need to do," she said.
"I am keen to see consistency.
"I would have liked this to be a national decision where all states and territories implement changes at the same time to avoid any confusion, particularly when we've got so many people travelling from interstate now and around the country."
New South Wales and Victoria will also be scrapping the requirement for unvaccinated travellers to undergo seven days of hotel quarantine.
But Ms D'Ath said that change had not been recommended by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, a group made up of all the state and territory chief health officers and the national Chief Health Officer.
"I am keen, if they do make changes in that area, to see what those changes are," Ms D'Ath said.
Should 'relax' close contact rules, expert says
The director of infectious diseases at Mater Health Services, Associate Professor Paul Griffin, said Queensland was in a strong position to immediately scrap the close contact rules, which applied to anyone living with those who had tested positive for COVID-19.
Dr Griffin said there was no reason to delay moving on from these restrictions.
"I think we are at a time when we can look to relax those close contact rules that I think are probably adding very little at the moment, given what we're seeing with transmission and where our vaccine rates are," he said.
He said the priority from here would be to ensure people were up to date with their vaccines, that they get tested if they have symptoms, and stay home if they test positive.
Dr Griffin said Queensland had likely passed the peak of the Omicron BA2 sub-variant, which was what the state government had flagged as a tipping point to change the close contact rules.
"It does appear to be subsiding, although it's always hard to be sure until we're a little way past that, but I think things are starting to get under better control," he said.
He said Queensland could avoid a big spike in COVID-19 infections once close contact rules were removed, by implementing a common sense approach to the handling of people who tested positive.
"If we incorporate some sensible rules for those close contacts, like regular rapid antigen testing, wearing a mask for a period of time — at least seven days, if not 14 — then I think any additional risk would be very much mitigated by those rules, and so we shouldn't really expect a significant change in case numbers for implementing something like that," he said.
Dr Griffin said the close contact rules also likely meant some people had shunned testing.
"There's been a very significant impact from people isolating and not being able to turn up for work and I actually wouldn't be surprised if some people aren't getting tested because they're worrying about the impact of some of these close contact rules," he said.
"So maybe if they were a bit more reasonable, it might actually improve our ability to find those people who are actually positive and look after them properly."
