Cairns health expert Richard Gair warns of new Covid variant concerns

A Far North specialist in tropical medicine has urged people to get the latest Covid vaccine booster as nearly 30 people have been hospitalised across the region.

While nearly 30 Covid patients are recovering in hospitals administered by a Far North health service, there are concerns community case numbers are likely to be significantly underestimated due to people not testing or reporting positive results.

According to Queensland Health in the seven days up to April 21, there were 16 deaths, 4,060 new cases reported and 236 people across the state in hospital being treated for Covid.

On Thursday, Cairns Hospital and Hinterland Health Service Tropical Public Health Services (CHHHS) Director (Cairns) Dr Richard Gair who has been monitoring the outbreak said Covid was endemic in the community.

Director Cairns Tropical Public Health Unit, Dr Richard Gair said the health service is highly experienced in managing any outbreaks. Picture: Peter Carruthers

“New variants will continue to arise and very small numbers of the new variant XBB. 1.16 (Arcturus) have been identified to date in Queensland,” he said.

“We constantly monitor the emergence of new variants and will continue to provide advice to the community to help limit the spread of Covid, (but) it’s not possible at this stage to predict whether we will see a surge in cases in our region, but we are highly experienced in managing any outbreaks”.

A CHHHS spokesman said under-reporting is a critical issue as health services need the most accurate data available to be able to contain and treat diseases such as Covid.

“Hospitalisation figures are a far better measure of how Covid is going in the region, and its impact on our hospitals,” the spokesman said.

“As of 9.30am April 24, there were 28 Covid hospitalisations across our health service, including 13 patients being treated at Cairns Hospital, one patient at Atherton Hospital, and 13 patients at Herberton Hospital”.

As of April 24, there were 13 patients with Covid being treated in Cairns Hospital. Picture: Brendan Radke

Dr Gair said booster shots are still the best defence, especially for those aged 65 and above.

“We encourage a booster dose against Covid for people over 65 years of age and those with multiple medical conditions,” he said.

“Others may also wish to consider a Covid vaccine booster and it is available to all Queenslanders from pharmacies and GPs”.

In November 2022, Cairns was among six facilities to be moved to a Tier 3 level in the pandemic response, meaning there are acute bed shortages across the hospital networks.

Originally published as Cairns health expert Richard Gair warns of new Covid variant concerns