Quarantine period for close contacts halved to 7 days

The quarantine period for close contacts of COVID-19 cases has been halved.

Close contacts include anyone with 15 minutes of face to face contact with a case.

From 1am tomorrow, fully vaccinated close contacts will need to quarantine for seven days, not 14.

They will need to return negative tests on day 1 and day 5.

The changes were planned for January 1 but have been accelerated as 90% of eligible Queensland receive at least one dose of vaccine.

The change is effective from 1am tomorrow, Wednesday December 22.

Deputy Premier and Acting Health Minister Steven Miles welcomed the Chief Health Officer’s advice.

“I know how welcome this move will be,” the Deputy Premier said. 

“It provides more flexibility and certainty to business.

“We want them to be able to remain open and trading through this busy time of year.”

Also from Wednesday 22 December, there have been changes to the requirements for businesses listed as exposure sites to further assist owners and their staff.

Deep cleaning is no longer required.

Businesses do not need to close.

Cleaning can be done overnight with standard household cleaning products.

ENDS 

Media contact: Amy Hunter - 0423 651 484