Child under 10 dies with Covid as Queensland’s new cases jump 27 per cent to 9,630 with 16 deaths 

Child under 10 dies with Covid as Queensland’s new cases jump 27 per cent to 9,630 with 16 deaths

• A child under 10 is among 16 deaths in Queensland in latest Covid update
• The state also recorded 9,630 new Covid cases, a 27 per cent rise from Tuesday 
• The child had a rare inherited medical condition, Dr John Gerrard said 

By Michael Pickering For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:00 GMT, 2 February 2022 | Updated: 01:15 GMT, 2 February 2022

Queensland has announced 9,630 new Covid infections and 16 deaths, including a child under 10 years. 

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said there had now been 218 deaths in the state since December 13. There had now been 114 people due in aged care in Queensland.

There were 764 Covid patients in public hospitals, 24 in ICU, and 74 in private hospitals with one in ICU. 

Ms D’Ath said it was encouraging to see numbers in hospitals coming down.  

Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard explained the circumstances surrounding the death of the child. 

‘This child had a very serious underlying rare inherited medical condition but even so, it’s very sad for the parents of this child, Dr Gerrard said.

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said the child under 10 who had died with Covid had an underlying rare inherited medical condition

He said two people in 50s, five people in their 70s , three in their 80s and five in 90s had also died.

Six of the 16 were not vaccinated, two had received one dose, and five had received two doses.

Seven of the deaths occurred in aged care facilities. 

‘We should be seeing a higher booster rate, that is really disappointing,’ Dr Gerrard said. 

Both Ms D’Ath and Dr Gerrard expressed concern about the rate of vaccination of five to 11-year-old children ahead of the state’s return to school next Monday, February 7.   

‘School is going back next week, we really do encourage parents with young ones to bring them forward to get vaccinated,’ Ms D’Ath said.

‘There is no reason why your children’s vaccination shouldn’t be at the same rate as adults.’

Seventy-five per cent of 12-15-year-olds in Queensland were now vaccinated which Ms D’Ath said was ‘too low’. 

‘I don’t want parents to be frightened, but if I had children going back to school I’d want them to be vaccinated,’ Dr Gerrard said. 

Ms D’Ath and Dr Gerrard expressed concern about the rate of vaccination of five to 11-year-old children ahead of the state’s return to school next Monday, February 7

The update follows 7,588 new cases and 10 deaths announced yesterday as the virus continues to spread rapidly through the state’s aged care homes. 

There were 868 patients being treated for Covid in the state’s public and private hospitals yesterday.

It was revealed on Tuesday that of the 202 Covid-19 deaths in Queensland recorded this year, 107 were among aged care residents.  

Ms D’Ath yesterday called for the federal government to accelerate the rollout of booster vaccines in the aged care sector, saying many residents were dying from the virus before being getting the chance to roll up their sleeve.

‘We don’t know how many had been visited for boosters or how many residents have received their booster compared to the total aged care population,’ she said.

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