Currently Queensland requires fully-vaccinated travellers from hot spot areas like Victoria, NSW and the ACT to take a PCR test 72 hours before arriving and return a negative result.

The rule has been criticised for creating testing backlogs and delaying results for people who have been exposed to the virus.

PCR tests are highly accurate tests which are used at clinics across Australia.

Rapid antigen tests are not as accurate but they are quicker and can be used at home.

Ms Pałaszczuk said that NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet had confirmed that 10 per cent of PCR tests being carried out in his state were for people wanting to travel to Queensland.

“We are happy to get some further advice about rapid antigen tests,” she said.

She said they would await approval from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), which works with states and territories to adopt national health protection policies.

“The rapid antigen tests have not yet been approved yet by AHPPC, they need to get the approval and we’ll look at using them on the 1st of January,” she said.

“But between now and the new year, we will require those PCR tests for people coming into the state.

“It was part of our plan and we want to keep the virus out as much as we possibly can over Christmas and the new year.”

Rapid antigen tests can be bought at supermarkets and pharmacies and are designed to detect the proteins that form part of Covid, while PCR tests detect genetic material.

Ms Palaszczuk was then involved in a heated exchange with a reporter about the testing rule.

“Premier can you see that it is safe to say Queensland is now holding the rest of the country at ransom because this testing is causing angst among populations in NSW?” they asked.

“10 per cent,” she answered, referring to the proportion of tests carried out in NSW for travellers.

“Yes, but Premier have you seen the testing lines in NSW and Victoria?”

“10 per cent,” she repeated, before the journalist tried to ask another question.

“No you’ve got this wrong,” she continued.

“But Premier, then you got to the airport,” the reporter started to interject.

“Let me finish, let me finish, let’s be respectful... it’s OK... it’s frustrating for people in NSW because there are so many people getting tested because the variant Omicron is rampant in NSW.

“And guess what, I don’t want it rampant here in Queensland at the moment. I want Queenslanders to have a good, safe new year.”

She said that there were a lot of elderly people who hadn’t had their booster shots yet.

Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland had 23 vaccination locations open over the Christmas break, responding to criticisms from the federal government that states had been slowing down their jab efforts at such a crucial time.

“We will have the same number of hubs that have been operating during this pandemic, so there may be some reports of other states’ vaccination hub’s closing but if we do have some that are scaled-down, we will put extra ones out in different areas,” she said.