Queensland Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk has renewed calls for talks by the national cabinet on COVID-19, saying her NSW counterpart supports the idea.
More than 860 people are in Queensland hospitals with the virus, with 16 in intensive care. The number of active cases has exceeded 45,000, with the peak of the last wave still two weeks away.
Another 18 people have died and 6,900 new cases have been reported in Queensland.
The first from Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk. Credits: Matt Dennien
Palaszczuk says he spoke with NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet over the decision on the state of origin in Brisbane on Wednesday night about the impact of the increase in cases and hospitalizations in his state.
She says she supports her call for a national cabinet meeting so that Australian health chief Paul Kelly can brief leaders on the status of COVID-19.
“We’re all on the same page, and you know, the pressures are obviously across the country, not just in NSW and Queensland,” the prime minister told Seven’s Sunrise.
“We don’t want a long meeting, but we just want to receive advice and information, like now, will it be a short, sharp wave, or will we have another wave in September? We just want the updated information, which is what we used to get regularly.” .
Palaszczuk said leaders should also discuss how best support could be given to people who did not work with new virus subvariants.
He said it was up to the Commonwealth to determine pandemic sickness payments, but existing financial support may not be enough for some people.
AAP