Hundreds of Queenslanders gather for a Bunnings sausage amid jab rollout
Hundreds of residents have flocked to Bunnings stores across Queensland to grab a sausage and a jab as the state registered zero locally acquired Covid cases on Saturday.
The Queensland government on Tuesday announced the rollout of the vaccine in Bunnings stores in a bid to boost vaccination coverage in the sunshine state.
Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said the government was trying to find new ways to protect residents with the Bunnings vaccination clinics opening for the first time on Saturday.
“So that families can get their Bunnings sausage and a dose of vaccine,” the prime minister told parliament on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said her government was finding new ways to protect the state’s population by turning Bunnings stores into vaccine clinics (pictured)
More than 33 Bunnings retailers offer the jab across the state, stretching from the Gold Coast, inland to Dalby and as far north as Cairns.
The move comes as the state registered zero new locally acquired cases on Saturday and three were acquired abroad and detected in hotel quarantine.
A total of 16,140 vaccines have been administered and 7,335 tests have been conducted across the state in the past 24 hours.
dr. Queensland health officer Jeanette Young (pictured) was spotted eating a Bunnings issue on Saturday after a press conference at a vaccine pop-up in Brisbane.
Hundreds gathered for a vaccination and a Bunnings sausage on Saturday to help the solar state increase its jabs (pictured, a Queensland resident receives a Covid-19 vaccine)
The state now has a first dose of 71.7 percent and a double dose of 55.5%.
A trial of home quarantine for 1,000 stranded residents has also begun as the government begins to tackle plans to reopen.
“It is important that we do everything we can to implement strategies that will help contain the virus in our state,” Health Secretary Yvette D’Ath said on Tuesday.
Vaccinations are being offered at retailers from the Gold Coast, inland to Dalby and as far north as Cairns to boost the state’s number of shots (pictured, Queenslanders queue at the Covid-19 vaccination clinic in Brisbane’s Bunnings) )
The home quarantine trial provides an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and how it can be expanded, she said.
It is the first sign of the government’s plan to bring interstate travelers back to Queensland after Ms D’Ath called for more Queensland residents to be vaccinated on Monday.
“The next five to six weeks are crucial,” she said.
‘That’s your mission. Protect yourself and that helps protect our entire community and allows us to be open.”
QLD has now reached 71.7 percent first dose and 55.5% double dose (photo, Brisbane Bunnings turning into a vaccination clinic)
‘Families can get their Bunnings sausage and a dose of vaccine,’ the prime minister told parliament on Tuesday (pictured, residents queue for a sausage at Bunnings vaccination clinics)
But the ‘vague promises’ of when the border will reopen must be abandoned in favor of a concrete plan, says employers’ association the Australian Industry Group.
“Talking vaguely about a Christmas reopening schedule and then upping the ante on vaccination targets is far from the announcement the government needs to make to encourage people to get the shot,” said Rebecca Andrews, head of the AI group in Queensland. Tuesday.
“We need an unequivocal statement from the Prime Minister, supported by health authorities, that the state border barriers will be removed on Monday after the state achieves 80 percent vaccination coverage of all those eligible for the shot.”
There are 29 active cases of COVID-19 in Queensland.