Queensland will manage Omicron cases like regular COVID-19, dousing concerns passengers on two flights would be in quarantine over Christmas after a passenger tested positive.
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Health Minister Yvette D'Ath says the six new cases emerged in the community after 12,336 tests in the 24 hours to 6.30am on Wednesday.
The cases are interstate-acquired but some have been infectious for five days in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Wide Bay, Goondiwindi and Townsville.
Two of them are being treated as Omicron because both were recently in the NSW city of Newcastle, where there's an outbreak of the variant.
One visited the Argyle House nightclub, a superspreader exposure site, while another was in the Newcastle before flying on two packed flights to Brisbane and then onto Townsville on Monday.
"We are certainly treating them as if they are Omicron," Ms D'Ath told reporters on Wednesday.
There had been intense media speculation that dozens of passengers on those flights would have to quarantine over Christmas after Queensland Health listed them as close-contact venues.
However, Ms D'Ath said it was the first case of Omicron to arrive on a domestic flight and classifying other passengers as close contacts was a precaution while authorities worked out what to do.
She said after talks with interstate counterparts, a decision was made to treat cases of the variant like any other form of COVID-19 on flights and only classify passengers in the immediate vicinity of cases as close contacts.
"We don't need to treat Omicron any different to Delta when it comes to plane flights at this stage," she said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who's visiting Brisbane on Wednesday, said it was important the travel rules were applied in a way that encouraged Australians to go to Queensland.
"It's so important that when we deal with the Omicron variant, that we keep our head and that we apply common sense, and that we think these things through," he told reporters.
"I'm pleased that some common sense has now been applied."
Queensland has 50 active virus cases, but none of them are either seriously ill or in intensive care.
Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the infectiousness of Omicron made it likely that cases would peak soon.
"Most of us now believe that the speed with which we will reach a peak is probably faster than we originally anticipated. I think it's probably we're talking more in the weeks than the months," he said.
However, Dr Gerrard said it wasn't practical to tighten the current travel restrictions on domestic travellers, such as shortening PCR test windows.
He said the virus was already in the state and the settings were effectively managing virus "spot fires".
"It's just not practical, I mean, as time goes forward, we have to have some degree of risk appetite," he said.
"We can't just completely lock down and eliminate all risk - that's no longer possible. And realistically we expect that this virus will spread in the next few, probably weeks, even just a few months.
"What we know is if we reduce the number of seeding events or spot fires, if we keep those down the rate of which it climbs will reduce, and that's important, very important, because it reduces the load on hospitals."
Queensland has also reclassified one virus case in hotel quarantine as Omicron.
Australian Associated Press
