The backflip came as the State recorded six new cases, including two believed to be the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

One of the new cases, an interstate arrival, was at a Newcastle hotel in New South Wales which has since emerged as a superspreading event.

And the second case, who was on two flights from Newcastle to Brisbane and Brisbane to Townsville, had attended a second exposure site in Newcastle.

Genomic sequencing on both cases is ongoing but they are being treated as the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

The quarantine backflip was announced on Wednesday by Health Minister Yvette D’Ath, who defended the decision, saying information in regard to Omicron was changing daily and this was the first time the State had had a case on a domestic flight.

“The Public Health Unit acted cautiously to declare anyone on those two flights as a close contact … There has been a lot of discussions overnight and I know that there has been contact with other chief health officers and health officials interstate to see how States are dealing with this.

“I have been advised this morning … that we can apply the normal rules in relation to these flights.”

D’Ath defended the changing advice and said events were moving quickly with new information in regard to Omicron coming out constantly.

Of the six new cases announced on Wednesday, some had been infectious up to six days in the community. Another previously announced case, a returned traveller from the UK and in hotel quarantine, has since tested positive to the Omicron variant.

After initial fears that everyone on the two flights from Newcastle to Brisbane and Brisbane to Townsville would be deemed close contacts and forced to quarantine through Christmas, authorities announced on Wednesday the more relaxed and normal rules will now apply.

This means that only those sitting two rows behind and in front of the positive passengers and across the aisle are now close contacts.

Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said authorities had taken an “extremely cautious approach” in the early hours of the new case arrivals and late on Tuesday had made a decision to quarantine all arrivals until the matter could be discussed further with local and interstate colleagues.

“This is the first domestic flight where a likely Omicron case has been diagnosed,” he said.

“It is very clear now that Omicron is very contagious,” Gerrard said, adding that the peak of spread will be reached more quickly than originally anticipated.

“This is exactly what we expected. It is not unexpected at all and these numbers will increase in coming days and weeks,” he said.

Gerrard said the six new cases were in Goondiwindi, South Brisbane, Gold Coast and Wide Bay. The South Brisbane case is linked to the Newcastle superspreader event and is likely to be Omicron. This case was potentially infectious in the community from December 12-13.

He said the case from the two flights was also from Newcastle but had not been at the hotel event. He too is suspected of having the Omicron variant.

Rising case numbers in Australian states is coupled with a dire warning from the World Health Organisation chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, that the Omicron variant is spreading at a rate not seen with any previous variant of the virus.

“77 countries have now reported cases of Omicron, and the reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn’t been detected yet. Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant.”

The WHO warned against people being lulled into thinking it was mild and said all measures need to be employed to fight it.

New South Wales has recorded a huge jump in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday – 1360 cases and one death. This is up 804 cases since Tuesday and only nine days ago the State had just 208 cases.

Victoria announced 1405 cases and three deaths.

The superspreader event at a Newcastle nightclub has so far recorded 200 COVID-19 cases out of 680 people in attendance and 21 of them are the Omicron variant.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who jetted into Queensland on a pre-Christmas campaign trip, visiting Brisbane’s west,  was urging his State counterparts to allow travellers on the two flights to spend the festive season with their families.

“It’s not Christmas for almost two weeks. PCR testing and looking at ways to ensure people will be able to join their families I would hope is a very high priority for them,” Morrison told 4BC radio on Wednesday.

“There’s nothing magical about 14 days but with PCR testing and other things that can be done, I’m sure those who have been caught up in that would be happy to have those tests every single day… we’ve got to be more innovative and we’ve got to be finding ways to let people rejoin the community.”