COVID cases show need for caution

Transcript: AMA Queensland President, Dr Maria Boulton, Sky News Breakfast, Monday January 2 2023

Subject: COVID precautions

RHIANNON ELSTON:   Joining us now is Dr Maria Boulton, Queensland President of the Australian Medical Association. Dr Boulton, thanks for joining us. The health minister said yesterday there was no immediate public health threat from China. Is that your view as well?

DR MARIA BOULTON:   It's really interesting. We are in the middle of a COVID wave in Queensland, and COVID cases are rampant throughout the world. For us, we're healthcare workers, it makes perfect sense to test people and it makes perfect sense not to have people fly when they are unwell.

RHIANNON ELSTON:   So, you support these changes?

DR MARIA BOULTON:   This is not just about one country. We know that COVID is all around the world and we do support the changes to test people before they fly to Australia if they have symptoms. We know that there are other things that people can be doing, and Australians as well. We know that. Since the beginning, we've been asking people that if they're sick, they stay home and get tested, that people wear masks. Also, that people access the oral COVID antivirals if they are eligible.

We know that our hospital system is stretched in Australia. But we also know the tourism and hospitality industries have been decimated through COVID and it's really, really important that we all do everything we possibly can to support those industries, but also ensure that they have a healthy workforce so that when tourists come, there's a workforce to greet them. I'm a doctor, I see people with COVID every day here in Australia as well, and the main thing that we need to do is have some responsibility and ensure that if you're sick, stay home and get tested.

RHIANNON ELSTON:   There has been some discussion about a return to traveller quarantine. What do you think of that?

DR MARIA BOULTON:   Look, considering that there's COVID everywhere in the world, I think that'll be up to the authorities, but from our point of view, it's just essential that we continue to do things that we know work - for example, masks, for example, testing. They're really, really important. We just cannot drop the ball. We're still in this pandemic and nobody wants to be in this pandemic anymore. We're all over it, especially healthcare workers, but it is important that in order to see the other side of the pandemic, we do those things that we know reduce the spread.

RHIANNON ELSTON:   Of course, we saw a lot of the COVID rules relaxed in 2022, but how have we been doing in terms of cases over Christmas?

DR MARIA BOULTON:   Yeah, look, we're still seeing COVID cases in Queensland and we know that we saw quite a few after New Year's events last year, so I guess we'll see what the new data shows. But, the reality in Queensland is that our hospitals are still very busy, there's still ambulance ramping, there are still people on long waiting lists to get elective surgery and to get that specialist outpatient appointment. We know that there are businesses that are still having issues with a number of staff that are sick, and sometimes those businesses have to close for a few days to cope, so COVID is ever-present.

We are concerned about the removal of funding to our public hospitals, the extra 5 per cent that they were getting due to COVID. We think that's too early. We know that our hospitals need that funding in order to continue to provide the services that they need to continue to provide. We know that our hospitals were stretched before COVID, but COVID has certainly overstretched them more and now's the time not to pull funding. It's not the time to pull funding from the hospitals.

RHIANNON ELSTON:   Certainly huge strain on hospitals. How far away do you think an endemic stage of COVID is?

DR MARIA BOULTON:   I'm not an epidemiologist, so I listen to the medical advice like everybody else from those who know the data and the figures. I guess the thing with COVID is that it is a new virus and only time will tell, and all we can do is to ensure that we're doing the right things so that we don't bring COVID into our homes and into our workplaces, and ensure that we stay up to date with our booster vaccines.

We know that Queensland is not winning that battle. We know that when compared to other states and territories, our booster rate is not where it should be, and that's one thing that we could be doing - ensuring that if you're eligible for a booster, you go see your GP and you get a booster.

RHIANNON ELSTON:   Okay. Dr Maria Boulton, thank you so much for the discussion.