Stop being so frigging selfish: Top doc’s warning to Queenslanders

The Australian Medical Association Queensland president has issued a stern warning to the Sunshine State, saying it could end up in a similar position to Victoria if residents don’t take COVID-19 seriously. He also gave a grim insight into the “painful” illness and what makes the average person more likely to die from it.

THE Australian Medical Association Queensland president has warned that if Queenslanders do not follow social distancing rules, the Sunshine State could end up in a similar position to Victoria.

Dr Chris Perry said following rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was critical as Victoria’s shocking second wave “could happen anywhere”.

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“It seems the bigger dose of the virus you are exposed to initially, the more likely you are to die,” Dr Perry said.

“So at a nightclub, if you’re snogging away with someone with the virus … you have a better chance of dying than when someone sneezes in your path when you walk down the street.”

AMAQ President Dr Chris Perry. (Picture, John Gass)

Dr Perry, who took over as AMA Queensland president in the middle of the pandemic, said Newmarch House nursing home in western Sydney was a good example of how crucial social distancing was. Of the 102 residents at the nursing home, 37 contracted the virus, and 20 of those residents died.

Dr Perry said the numbers illustrated how high the mortality rate could be, with more than 50 per cent of those who contracted it in the nursing home dying from the virus.

“It is a slow, painful, lonely death isolated away from everybody,” he said.

“It’s a serious, serious illness. To say it’s just the flu is so very, very ­stupid … People need to get their heads out of the sand and stop being so frigging selfish and ­realise this is a serious, serious illness and they should keep up social distancing.”