Queensland's traffic light advisory for COVID-19 will be scrapped as the state faces the threat of an early wave of flu cases.

Influenza cases have spiked since the start of winter, with 200 people already being treated in hospital, and are expected to top COVID-19 admissions before the end of the month.

About 250 people are still being treated for COVID-19 in Queensland hospitals, with most patients over the age of 65 and not up to date with their vaccinations.

"I can announce with the chief health officer that we will be monitoring COVID much like any other respiratory illness," Health Minister Shannon Fentiman told reporters on Friday.

"The traffic lights, as Queenslanders have come to know them, will end from today.

"COVID does not pose the same threat that it once did, and we are going to treat it much like we treat the flu."

The traffic light system was introduced in October, 2022, when certain pandemic powers expired, and the three levels of advice were designed to recognise and respond to the current risk of the virus.

Chief Heath Officer John Gerrard said COVID-19 was now commonplace in the community but the state was no longer experiencing waves of the virus.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, so does our response here in Queensland," Dr Gerrard told reporters on Friday.

"COVID-19 is now part of our reality much like other respiratory illnesses."

Dr Gerrard said the pandemic disrupted the typical pattern of other respiratory viruses worldwide, including in Queensland.

"For example, our influenza season is occurring about two months earlier than we would typically see here in Queensland.

"By next week, the number of Queenslanders hospitalised with influenza is expected to exceed the number of people hospitalised with COVID-19."

While Queensland had scaled back the health warning system that guided the state through the worst of COVID-19, Dr Gerrard said the pandemic was still not over.

"It still is possible that a new variant may emerge, which is more contagious or more virulent," he said.

"That could happen in the future ... we cannot say the pandemic is over, but we can say that we are not seeing the very large surges we saw last year."

Dr Gerrard said the number of influenza cases was rising and had been "unusually early".

"I'm not going to say it's bad - this is an important point - it's early, and we don't know how severe the influenza season is going to be, but it is early, and it's still got a number of weeks to run.

"The numbers are significant at the moment, and they are rising."