Information for multicultural communities – COVID-19

CHO Dr John Gerrard, Chief Health Officer

[CALD audiences]

Hello. For those who don't know me, I am Dr John Gerrard, the Queensland Chief Health Officer.

Today I have an important message about COVID-19 in the community. First, I would like to thank all the community leaders, the service providers and community members for their efforts over the last few years to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Our communities and our health system are in a stronger position to deal with COVID-19 because we worked together. We have been living with COVID-19 in the community since December 2021. Unfortunately, COVID-19 is not going away.

You might have heard me talk about the omicron variant before. There are new sub-variants of omicron in the community. Each sub-variant is a bit different to the last.

We are seeing COVID-19 cases in Queensland rise again for the third time. Even though many people have been vaccinated or have had COVID-19 already. We are expecting more cases in the coming months. Some people are catching COVID-19 for the second or even third time.

It is important that people have their vaccinations up to date.  For different age groups, this means: four vaccine doses if you are over 50 years of age or if you have a health condition that puts you at higher risk of COVID-19. Three vaccine doses if you are 16 -49 years of age and two vaccine doses for children who are 5-15 years of age. These vaccines might not stop you getting COVID-19, but they will prevent you getting a severe case and needing to go to hospital.

You can get your COVID-19 vaccine at your local doctor or pharmacy. If you need help to book, you can call 13Health on 13 43 25 84. You can also call the National Coronavirus Helpline 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 1800 020 080. Press 8 if you need an interpreter for language support.

Remember, there are steps we can all take to keep our communities safe.  Please practice good hygiene, which means wash your hands regularly, practice social distancing and wear a mask indoors or on crowded transport.

Queensland Health remains committed to making information about COVID-19 available to everyone in Queensland. We have translated messages for culturally and linguistically diverse communities on our website. I encourage you to keep checking out Queensland Health's translated information resources and website for up to date information.

Thank you again for continuing to work with Queensland Health to keep our communities safe. Remember, everyone has a role to play in keeping us all safe.  Thank you.