FNQ Covid numbers jump, Cairns records 600 and Yarrabah 75
As the Far North recorded another surge in Covid cases, one doctor issued a dire warning as he revealed the “horrendous” condition unvaccinated patients were presenting in.
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AS Queensland suffered its deadliest day of the pandemic with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reporting six deaths on Thursday, the Far North Indigenous community of Yarrabah was hit by a huge jump in Covid cases from 17 to 75.
Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service Aboriginal Corporation spokesman confirmed that 75 people had tested positive for Covid at Yarrabah, an area which still lags behind the rest of the state in vaccination levels.
The worrying increase came as the Cairns health region added another 600 positive cases.
“Covid numbers have risen alarmingly, at the moment there are 75 confirmed cases of Covid in the Yarrabah community,” a Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service Aboriginal Corporation spokesman said.
“We can also confirm that 30 households are affected.
“We also have additional resources are coming in through Queensland Health.”
It is understood while federal health data indicates 75.5 per cent of the Yarrabah population have had their first jab and 64.7 per cent their second, the actual figures are much higher, thanks to many coming forward for the jab this week, spurned on by recent cases.
“There’s been a huge amount of Covid testing at the Yarrabah fever clinic,” the spokesman said.
“It’s really important that the community isolate and stay at home in small groups.”
The state government on Thursday confirmed the land border barriers put in place by the state government would finally come down this weekend but Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said restrictions on vaccinated international arrivals would remain until Queensland reached 90 per cent double dose, the state was at 88.2 per cent.
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service infectious disease specialist, Dr Simon Smith, said 20 per cent of Covid patients in hospital were unvaccinated, all were gasping for breath and “extremely unwell”.
“All the patients that I’ve seen so far, all the unvaccinated have expressed regret not being vaccinated,” he said.
“It’s really terrible and people who are unvaccinated come in with horrendous pneumonia, they have come in the hospital with escalating oxygen requirements, gasping for breath.
“We already had two patients with severe Covid in the ICU.”
Dr Smith said the message is clear,
“Get vaccinated,” he said.
Meanwhile, CHHHS chief executive Tina Chinery confirmed that overnight another 600 new Covid cases had been reported in the region.
But she said that the health service is “well prepared” to cope as the news that Queensland will fully reopen to all domestic travellers on January 15.
“In the last 24 hours to now we have had 600 new active cases with 27 inpatients, two in the intensive care unit and around 100 in the virtual ward,” she said.
“Now since the border has opened, we have seen 8000 cases in our district.
“We feel very prepared to deal with the pandemic and for what’s proposed to be the peak at the end of January, beginning of February.”
Ms Chinery thanked, “all the incredible staff that includes Cairns and Hinterland and Hospital staff, Queensland Ambulance Service and Queensland Police,” whom she said “have been working really hard to respond to this pandemic.”
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