The Queensland Premier has called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to take greater responsibility for international quarantine as the state marks one year since it declared coronavirus a health emergency.
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Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Federal Government needed to "step up to the plate" and support state-run hotel quarantine programs.
It comes as the state recorded one new case, a woman in her 40s who is in hotel quarantine after travelling from Pakistan via Doha.
"As we contend with the new unknowns of COVID-19, a national quarantine plan would mean proper Commonwealth funding as well as adequate Defence Force and Border Force resourcing," she said in a post on social media.
"There's no doubt the state-run hotel quarantine program currently in place is first-class, having served Queensland well over the last 10 months.
"But now is the time for the Commonwealth to step up to the plate."
Ms Palaszczuk said more options for hotel quarantine must be considered by the Commonwealth which is why she put forward a proposal for quarantine facilities to be established in regional Queensland.
"All ideas must be on the table as we contend with these new highly infectious strains," she said.
"That's what I did earlier this month when I put the proposal of centralised quarantining for returning international travellers on the table.
"Consolidating quarantining into fewer sites that are more centralised will help reduce the ever-increasing risk of transmission and deserves to be considered.
"With potentially another unpredictable year ahead of us, now is the time for the Prime Minister to step up to his responsibilities and put in place a well-funded, adequately resourced, nationally consistent international quarantine plan."
One year on
Ms Palaszczuk said Friday marks 12 months since the state declared a health emergency in Queensland to deal with coronavirus.
"We were the first state in the country to do so and I can remember very clearly that I called a meeting of the Queensland Disaster Management Committee to look at this issue," she said.
"Over the past year, we have done more than 1.7 million tests.
"Over 1,309 cases were recorded in Queensland and, tragically, six people have passed away and we extend our condolences to those people and of course five were from cruise ships.
"About 28,000 people joined our care army and never before have we seen so many people who have come out and wanted to look after some of our most vulnerable members of our society."
Personal toll of making public health decisions
Queensland's Deputy Chief Health Officer Sonya Bennett has described the personal toll of making public health decisions and knowing the impact it would have on people's lives.
Dr Bennett told ABC Radio Brisbane that the state was fortunate to be in the position it was in thanks to good management and a bit of luck, but she said it did take a toll.
"I think we all understood that as we make public health decisions that they have other impacts, including both on the economy and on people's health and wellbeing," she said.
"But in a personal sense it really is understanding that many people have missed funerals of their loved ones.
"I think we all know people who have been in that situation, I do not think any of us are immune.
"That has been really difficult on a personal level to know the impact that that has had on people individually."
Why Queensland has done so well
Dr Bennett is also the chair of Communicable Diseases Network Australia.
She said Queensland's experience with disaster management, as well as making decisions early, had been key over the past year.
"We have got a lot of experience in managing both health emergencies, and, in Queensland particularly, disasters," she said.
"I really think that has really stood us in good stead.
"But we just really cannot let our guard down.
"We have still probably got 12 months of understanding how effective the vaccine is and how many people will be vaccinated and how we manage cases as we continue to see them."
Dr Bennett travelled to Victoria to help authorities at the height of that state's outbreak.
She said all health authorities continued to learn from each other.
"The learning is how quickly this virus can get away from you, and it is unpredictable," she said.
"I think it has taught us really that we have to get ahead of that curve, not wait until we know we have transmission to really be able to get the virus back under control.
"That was probably one of the biggest learnings."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTAxLTI5L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLXF1ZWVuc2xhbmQtY292aWQtcHJlbWllci1jYXNlcy1ob3RlbC1xdWFyYW50aW5lLzEzMTAwMjQw0gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEzMTAwMjQw?oc=5
2021-01-29 00:05:00Z
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