Covid 19 coronavirus: Queensland records seventh death since pandemic began

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the man was diagnosed while in quarantine and admitted to hospital in late March. Photo / Getty Images

Queensland has recorded its seventh coronavirus death since the pandemic began.

The 80-year-old man returned from the Philippines on March 20 and was in hotel quarantine when he tested positive to coronavirus five days after arriving.

He was moved to Brisbane's Prince Charles Hospital on March 25 but after battling the disease for a couple of weeks, he tragically lost his life overnight.

Queensland's chief health officer Dr Jeanette Young said the man had passed through Papua New Guinea on his way back to Australia but she was "sure" he caught coronavirus in the Philippines.

Sadly, a seventh person with COVID-19 has died. The 80-year-old returned traveller died in hospital, after contracting coronavirus overseas. He was diagnosed while in hotel quarantine and admitted to hospital on 25 March.

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 13, 2021

The tragic news comes amid a shakeup of Australia's national Covid-19 vaccine rollout, with the Government now ruling out use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as part of its immediate rollout.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison over the weekend scrapped plans to announce a new deadline to vaccinate all Australians by the end of the year, in an admission over the "uncertainties" surrounding the programme.

Despite promising greater transparency on the rollout by providing daily updates on the number of people vaccinated, Morrison confirmed on Sunday his government will no longer commit to any targets on when the programme will be completed or when most Australians will have their first jab.

The Government had previously raised hopes that the majority of Australians would have their first Covid jab by the end of October, with the majority of adults fully vaccinated in the two-jab vaccination programme by the end of 2021.

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has scrapped a deadline to vaccinate all Australians by the end of the year. Photo / AP

The Government's vaccine rollout has been hit by the revised medical advice over the AstraZeneca vaccine that it is not the preferred option for under 50s.

On April 8, the Prime Minister said the fallout would take some time for the Government to work through after it was hit with new health advice on Thursday night to advise anyone under 50 to consider the alternative Pfizer vaccine – if it's available.

But he implied that a timetable may be offered down the track.

"In terms of what the overall implications are at this stage, it's too early to give you that answer,'' Morrison said on Thursday.

The Government has secured an additional 20 million doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, but the much-needed supply will not arrive in Australia until the end of the year.