Covid-19 hospitalisations in Queensland are not likely to peak for another month, with the latest modelling projecting a maximum caseload of about 1,660 in late August.
The estimate represents a 60% increase of close to 600 on existing hospital numbers, which are sitting at slightly more than 1,000, the highest level of the pandemic so far.
A total of 1,170 patients are being treated across public and private health systems for Covid or the flu.
Another 21 people died with Covid in the state’s most recent 24-hour reporting period, with 8,612 new cases reported and about 66,000 active infections.
The Queensland government says it is preparing by making extra hospital beds available and scaling up ambulance coordination efforts.
More health staff are being moved to the frontline, with virtual care systems introduced in an effort to reduce strain on emergency departments.
“When we are faced with the worst, Queenslanders always step up,” the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, tweeted on Tuesday.
“It’s time to come together again and fight; get vaccinated, use a mask in crowds and indoors, and stay home if you’re sick.”
Doctors have already reported the current wave as the worst to date, as sickness and worker fatigue aggravate staff shortages.
Many waiting rooms, emergency beds and wards were at capacity, and ambulance ramping remains an ongoing issue, the Australian Medical Association Queensland’s Kim Hansen says.
“This is the toughest (wave) yet,” she told ABC radio Brisbane last week.
“The numbers are pretty huge and we’ve got influenza on top of that.”
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