The minister said the state is now in a 'new stage of the pandemic'
Vaccination mandates covering workers of private health care facilities will be up to employers, according to the latest announcement from Health Minister Yvette D'Ath. The new order comes as the state leaves the "peak of the third wave" and reports high vaccination rate among healthcare workers.
"With 93% of Queenslanders double vaccinated and the most recent peak having passed, now is the right time to transition responsibilities for managing the vaccination requirements of workers in private hospitals, primary care, and private allied health to those employers," said D'Ath.
"Whether vaccination is required for these individuals is now a matter for individual employers as part of normal workplace health and safety obligations."
For Queensland Health workers, however, the minister said they will still need to remain up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations. This order also stays for workers in aged and disability care facilities, according to the minister.
"To protect vulnerable residents in aged and disability care, a COVID vaccine mandate in these facilities will be retained," said D'ath. "The Queensland Health staff vaccination directive will also remain in place to ensure the safety of employees, patients, visitors, and the wider community."
Read more: Queensland's Work Health and Safety Act review to begin next week
In addition to these changes, the Queensland Health said it will only report COVID case numbers on weekdays starting next week.
On Thursday, Queensland reported 2,033 new COVID-19 cases, with active cases at 13,510, according to its health department. Sky News reported that the peak of the state's COVID-19 wave hit in late July.
However, while the minister did not rule out the possibility of a future COVID-19 wave in December, she stressed that Queensland is now in a "new stage of the pandemic."
"Given that we will be living with this virus for years to come, we need to transition away from managing via Chief Health Officer public health directions unless it is absolutely necessary."
