QLD has recorded 16812 cases of COVID-19 from 37622 tests from the latest reporting period.

9 people have tragically died of the disease, as 850 people are in hospital and 48 of those are in intensive care.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles noted that despite the changes to international arrivals coming into effect this Saturday, the state would still require quarantine in hotels and the new facility at Wellcamp for unvaccinated arrivals and QLDr’s who cannot adequately quarantine at home.

QLD schools are concerned about teachers availability as the state prepares its belated start to the school year. 

Most QLD students will begin term 1 on February 7th a measure intended to avoid the predicted peak of COVID cases. 

Between replacing unvaccinated staff and the possibility of potential outbreaks sending teachers into isolation, fears persist among schools and the teachers union over possible staffing issues in the coming term.

Heavy rain across western QLD has caused flooding and closed major roads, with fears that the torrential rain could be a repeat of the 2019 floods.

Totals of 155 millimetres were recorded between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning with many roads across the central west region closed due to flooding.

Longreach resident, Kirsten Forrest, said that the rain they received early Wednesday morning was the most they had received in 13 years.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has given provisional approval for two oral treatments for COVID-19, Paxlovid and molnupiravir. 

The medication will be a course of five days, however, the TGA insists that the drugs are not a replacement for getting vaccinated.

Health Minister Greg Hunt stated that the drugs will start arriving in the coming weeks and will likely ‘help the most vulnerable particularly of our older Australians.’

The Pacific Nation of Tonga is weighing up the potential risks of bringing in further international aid and support to assist with the devastating underwater eruption, due to fears of COVID-19 being brought into the country.

Around 80% of Tongans have been affected by the eruption and subsequent tsunami, with reports that some islands no longer have any houses remaining on them. 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson continues to face increasing pressure to resign in the wake of the Downing Street parties scandal; where the leader held a party for colleagues during the height of the 2020 COVID lockdown.

A member of johnson’s own Conservative Party, Christian Wakeford has defected to the Labour Party in anger over the scandal and a former minister in the House Of Commons told Johnson: ‘In the Name of God, Go.’

Dates have been set for Quarantine-free international travel into QLD, as the state records almost 20 thousand COVID cases and 11 more deaths. 

Yesterday, Premier Anastasia Paluszczuk announced the change would come into effect at 1 am on Saturday, as the state is expected to reach its 90% vaccination target for those aged 16 and over in the next week. 

Travellers will no longer be quarantined, on the provision that they are full vaccinated and can produce a negative Rapid Antigen Test within 24 hours of entering Australia.

Australia’s Largest backhoe dredge, The Woomera has arrived in Townsville to begin the $232 million dollar project to widen the port’s shipping channel.

The dredge, welcomed by traditional owners holding a smoking ceremony, is set to dig 30 swimming pools worth of ocean sediment over 2 years to widen the channel, which backers say will attract larger vessels to dock in Townsville as opposed to Brisbane.