The Queensland government has delayed the announcement of its back-to-school plan because Education Minister Grace Grace has contracted COVID-19. “We wish her a speedy recovery,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters in Townsville on Tuesday. “As soon as she is back on deck, the Education Minister and I will make that announcement. I think people can understand that I’d like the Education Minister to be here for that announcement,” she said. The start of the 2022 school year, originally set for Jan. 23, was delayed until Feb. 7 amid rising concerns that COVID-19 case numbers would surge to “emergency” levels at the end of January and into early February. That said, Palaszczuk said she was “heartened” to see the predictions didn’t reach the peak levels her government was expecting. “We’re going to wait to see what happens over the next one to two weeks. The peak and the utilisation of hospital …