As the infectious strain sweeps through Queensland and other states, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will on Wednesday meet with state and territory leaders to discuss rising Covid-19 cases following the easing of pandemic restrictions and opening of borders.

Up for discussion is whether to mandate masks across indoor settings and the time frame of booster shots.

Queensland recorded 86 new cases on Tuesday as the number of infections driven by Omicron continues to double every two days.

However, the State Government has opted to ease quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated close contacts of confirmed Covid cases.

There were fears the strict rules would end up forcing thousands of Queenslanders into isolation over the Christmas and New Year holiday break.

However, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said that from Wednesday, quarantine periods would be cut from 14 days to seven days for such close contacts, provided they are fully vaccinated.

“That will greatly reduce the impact on individuals as well as on businesses when they have a COVID positive case,” he said.

A total of 75 of the state’s 269 active cases are being treated in hospital, with one in intensive care, Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said.

The majority of patients are experiencing “minimal symptoms” and the woman in intensive care has been admitted “mainly” because of other medical conditions, he said.

“We’re seeing about two cases of Omicron diagnosed for every one case of Delta,” he said.

“Omicron has become the dominant virus here in Queensland.”

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is reportedly looking at whether to require people to receive a booster shot before they’re considered fully vaccinated.

States including NSW are pushing for the interval between second and third shots to be cut further from five months.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said ahead of Wednesday’s national cabinet meeting he had written to all premiers strongly urging the use of masks indoors.

However he resisted the notion of returning to lockdowns to fight Omicron’s spread, saying Australia needed to shift from mandates to personal responsibility.

“The time for that heavy hand is behind us,” he said.

“None of us want to go back to lockdowns … and the way we avoid that is by ensuring that people practise responsible behaviours, because, you know, Covid is not going anywhere any time soon.

“And to live with it over time we have to do it with a culture of responsibility, not with a culture of control and mandates.”

University of Melbourne epidemiologist Nancy Baxter backs reducing the interval between vaccinations at least to four months.

“More people getting it (the virus) means more people are going to transmit it and more people are going to have that risk of developing serious illness even if they’ve been vaccinated,” she told ABC radio on Tuesday.

“We know that boosters help get around that.”

Deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud reassured people Australia had enough boosters despite concerns pharmacies were struggling to secure sufficient supplies to match demand.

“Over the coming weeks we will get a better picture (about Omicron), then the premiers will be able to make decisions on mandates around masks,” he told the Nine Network.

In Queensland, masks are mandatory in some retail settings and hospitals, but encouraged elsewhere. They are not mandated indoors in NSW.

Tasmania has brought in an indoor mask mandate. Victoria still requires them in retail settings.

There’s also a push to make rapid antigen tests free amid lengthy delays at traditional testing sites as cases increases and people rush to obtain negative results required for interstate travel.

“We need a certain nimbleness that we haven’t had to date in terms of thinking about how we do alter the testing procedures,” Prof Baxter said.

She favoured incorporating rapid antigen tests into Australia’s existing nose and throat swab screening regime at state-run clinics.

NSW reported 3057 new cases – a new high – and two deaths on Tuesday. There are 284 people in hospital with the virus, 39 in intensive care.

In Victoria, 1245 new infections and six additional deaths were recorded, with 392 people in hospital and 73 in intensive care.

South Australia reported 154 new infections, the ACT recorded 16 cases and Tasmania three.

Three new infections were also confirmed in the Northern Territory as it extended a lockdown in the town of Tennant Creek until Wednesday.

The federal government has used Commonwealth biosecurity laws to prevent people entering or leaving the Indigenous Ali Curung community and surrounding homelands to curb further transmission.