Day 5 testing requirement changes in Queensland

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services The Honourable Yvette D'Ath

The day 5 testing requirement for arrivals into Queensland has been lifted, freeing up testing clinic capacity for those who need it most.

The day 5 testing requirement has been lifted, effective immediately and applies to new arrivals as well as those already in Queensland now.

The requirement for a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to entry into Queensland If travelling from an interstate hotspot remains in place.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath said that the recommendation to lift the requirement for day 5 testing came from the Chief Health Officer.

“Like with all of our health measures in Queensland, we take a cautious and measured approach to protect our community, based off expert health advice,” Minister D’Ath said.

“The primary goal of day 5 testing was to catch COVID-19 cases as early as possible in travellers from hotspots.

“Thankfully, we’ve seen very few positive COVID-19 test results from testing asymptomatic people. We sampled around 24,000 day 5 tests and only 0.6 per cent were positive.

“It’s for this reason we are confident in removing the requirement to have a COVID-19 test on day 5 after arriving in Queensland.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has done the right thing – it’s because of you that we were able to assess the benefit of this testing over the past couple of weeks.

“Anyone in Queensland who has even the mildest of COVID-19 symptoms must get tested immediately, regardless of whether it’s their fifth day in our state or their first.

Minister D’Ath said all border restrictions continued to be reviewed as the state edged closer to the 90 percent double-dose milestone.

“Keep getting vaccinated Queensland, and we can keep easing restrictions and getting on with as normal a life as possible,” Minister D’Ath said.

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