The Gold Coast suburbs ‘not ready’ for border reopening

As more than 20 Queensland council areas are now on track to achieve 80 per cent protection against Covid-19, the Premier has singled out the Gold Coast suburbs she says are ‘not ready’ for the borders to reopen.

More than 20 Queensland council areas are now on track to achieve 80 per cent protection against Covid-19, as vaccination levels surge in the days after the Premier’s announcement of a jab mandate.

Queensland’s first dose vaccine coverage increased by 12,370 people on Sunday to hit 82.3 per cent, with 70.5 per cent of the adult population now fully vaccinated.

Newly released local government jab rates also revealed that 23, of the 40 council areas with data available, had now surpassed the 80 per cent single dose vaccine milestone — an increase from just 11 LGAs the week before.

This includes the Gold Coast, where 81.9 per cent of people aged 16 and older have had at least one jab and 69.8 per cent are double vaccinated.

But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she remained concerned that parts of the border city were “not ready” for the reopening of domestic borders, singling out suburbs including Coomera, Gaven, Pimpama and Natural Bridge for vaccination rates lower than the state average.

Suburb level jab data — which didn’t include the specific areas the Premier mentioned — showed Nerang and the Gold Coast Hinterland were among areas that had vaccination rates lower than the state average.

About 77.6 per cent of the Nerang community and 78.4 per cent of the Gold Coast Hinterland community have had one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, compared to the statewide rate of 82.3 per cent.

“We really need to see some of those areas come out and get vaccinated because … make no mistake, this is close to the border,” she said.

“When we get to that 80 per cent double dose, there’s going to be a lot more people coming here … so we need to protect the Gold Coast … I need more people to come and get vaccinated.”

Ashlee Young, 19, from Coomera just got her second vaccination jab. Picture: Adam Head

Queensland council areas with low vaccination rates include Charters Towers (70 per cent single dose), Mareeba (70.2 per cent) and Isaac (59.4 per cent).

The most protected council area is Goondiwindi, where more than 95 per cent of adults have now received at least one dose, with 86.2 per cent fully vaccinated.

Mayor Lawrence Springborg said the area’s vaccination rates, which are the highest in Queensland, had been instrumental in preventing a recent Covid-19 incursion from turning into an outbreak.

“It goes to prove the criticality of a community which is on board, with a good public health program, council leading the charge … (and) I can ‘t speak highly enough of our local business community,” he said.

Goondiwindi Mayor Lawrence Springborg.