Gympie escapes Covid outbreak despite low vaccination rates

A Covid scare is the latest development amid a lagging number of vaccinations in the Gympie region, and has come just days ahead of the closure of the region’s main vaccination hub.

Gympie has had a wake-up call after the region dodged a Covid outbreak amid its slower than average uptake of the vaccine.

A truck driver who tested positive to the virus while in New South Wales was revealed to be from Gympie, and had visited places in Bundaberg and Caboolture. The close shave has come on the eve of the closure of the major vaccination hub established at the Gympie Civic Centre.

The hub will close on Thursday.

A Queensland Health spokesman said on Tuesday no Gympie exposure sites had been declared as health authorities were confident any people at risk of exposure to the virus had been contacted.

“The only time we put exposure sites on our website or social media is when we don’t feel we have been able to contact everybody who may possibly have been exposed,” the spokeswoman said.

“For example, if there was an exposure site where they have been able to contact everybody who was there at the time they don’t have to notify the public.”

The scare came as the Gympie region continues to have one of the lowest vaccine rates in Queensland.

On Monday, October 18, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said regions with low vaccine rates could face targeted restrictions to prevent any outbreaks from spreading.

The Gympie Times reached out to Ms D’Ath for comment on the Gympie truck driver who tested positive, but she did not comment on the situation.

Covid

In a press conference on Wednesday morning, the minister continued to encourage those who had not yet been vaccinated to get the jab.

“We need people fully protected, which means you need to be out getting your first dose this week,” she said.

“So don’t wait, come out today, tomorrow, over the weekend and make sure you’re getting your vaccination.”

But this may prove more difficult for Gympie residents, as the town’s mass vaccination hub, the Gympie Civic Centre, closes its doors on Thursday, October 28.

Queensland is expected to open to border to fully vaccinated Australians who will not have to quarantine on December 17, when the state is earmarked to reach 80% of the population vaccinated.

As of Tuesday, October 26, 55.7 per cent of Gympie residents over 15 were fully vaccinated.