A day after it reopened its border, Queensland could return to mask mandates indoors as a case of Omicron in the state was confirmed.
New Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard confirmed the case of Omicron was one of four new cases detected in hotel quarantine, the other three found in travellers returning from northern NSW.
Dr Gerrard said the person with Omicron had acquired the variant in Kenya.
None of the cases had been infectious while in the community.
The Omicron case was announced as Queensland began welcoming back thousands of travellers from interstate 'hotspots', NSW, Victoria and the ACT.
'At this stage we have not seen any impact from the re-opening of the border, it's a little early to see that,' Dr Gerrard said.
The state's ban on unvaccinated people entering most non-essential venues also comes into effect from this Friday, December 17.
Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard confirmed a case of the Omicron variant in the state on Tuesday, one of four new cases detected in hotel quarantine
'At this stage we have not seen any impact from the re-opening of the border (above), it's a little early to see that,' Dr Gerrard said on Tuesday
Queensland began welcoming back thousands of travellers from interstate 'hotspots', NSW, Victoria and the ACT yesterday
'Omicron is likely to become the dominant strain worldwide in the coming weeks and months,' Dr Gerrard warned.
Dr Gerrard urged people to get a booster vaccine five months after their second dose of a Covid vaccine as a protection against the likelihood of more Omicron cases.
'We are still learning about Omicron so I don’t want to say too much, but it looks like, with the booster, the vaccine will be effective against the strain,' he said.
Dr Gerrard said that vaccine hesitancy in Queensland was 'melting away' now that the state's border had re-opened, noting that there had been a doubling in the number of vaccinations on the Gold Coast yesterday where rates had lagged behind those in Brisbane.
The state's top doctor said Queensland will likely reintroduce a mask mandate for people meeting indoors if community transmission increased in the state.
'At this stage we are not seeing evidence of sustained community transmission,' he said.
Dr Gerrard confirmed there was no plan to lift the mandate preventing unvaccinated people from entering pubs, clubs, restaurants, galleries, museums, festivals and more other non-essential gatherings that comes into effect this Friday.
The mandate is expected to last until 90 per cent of eligible Queenslanders are fully vaccinates, estimated for some time in January.
Density limits on venues will be completely lifted venues from this Friday, provided all patrons are fully vaccinated.
'The immediate priority for the unvaccinated is to protect them from infection,' Dr Gerrard said.
'That means keeping unvaccinated people away from crowded environments.
'Hospitality venues have had a lot of their restrictions lifted so vaccinated people could live their lives normally and it's not fair on the vaccinated to ask them to make sacrifices
