COVID on the Gold Coast: Streets backed up with locals wanting tests, GPs experiencing a rush of anxious patients over vaccine

Queues spanned hundreds of metres and into back streets on the Gold Coast on  Wednesday as locals scrambled to get COVID-19 tests following the listing of exposure sites in the city. 

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QUEUES spanned hundreds of metres and into backstreets in Currumbin on  Wednesday as locals scrambled to get COVID-19 tests following the listing of exposure sites in nearby Tugun.

Cars were seen lining Galleon Way outside the 4Cyte Pathology clinic.

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Hundreds of vehicles were backed up into residential streets nearby, even before the testing centre opened at 8am.

It came as a Gold Coast tradie moonlighting as a stripper at a COVID-infected Byron Bay hens party put locals on tenterhooks by visiting locations only 3km from the testing centre, including Tugun cafe Niche & Co.

Cars lined up as people wait their turn for COVID-19 tests in Currumbin on Wednesday. Picture: Alexandria Utting.

Gold Coast GPs are experiencing a rush of anxious patients desperate to be tested for or vaccinated against COVID-19 in the wake of new cases and the Greater Brisbane lockdown.

While the broader community will not be vaccinated at this stage of the rollout, quite a number of vulnerable people who can get the jab have taken advantage.

It comes as GPs have urged the Coast to mask up, abide by preventive measures and avoid risky and potentially deadly “COVID fatigue” complacency during the ongoing pandemic.

Doctor Heather McLellan-Johnson, managing director of Medical on Miami and Burleigh Cove Respiratory Centre, said she had employed 10 more workers to cope with demand.

“We have a huge upswing as of Monday afternoon. We’ve gone from about 35-40 patients a day requiring a swab to 77 just in the first four and a half hours (after the announcement) yesterday,” she said.

“Today (Tuesday) we’re open until 7.30pm and we’ve booked out by 11am. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we’re looking to extend hours – so yes, it’s going a little crazy.”

Dr McLellan-Johnson said she could not fit more patients in for vaccinations until April 10.

“It’s going gangbusters. We’re going to see if we can get more doctors on-board and more staff,” she said.

The vaccine rollout is currently in Phase 1B, which targets the elderly and indigenous people over 55, healthcare workers and people with compromised immune systems.

Dr McLellan-Johnson also reminded Coast residents to wear masks over their mouth and nose and said incorrect and ineffective use was fairly common.

General Practice Gold Coast chair Doctor Kat McLean, who works at respiratory clinics on the Coast, also noticed a vaccination rush. She was due to receive her second jab on Tuesday.

“We haven’t fully booked clinics, but there’s certainly been a significant increase in the demand of people wanting to access immunisations and that would be absolutely expected with these cases we’ve got in the community,” she said.

“As soon as we get the vaccines we’re getting them out the community. The more supply we have the more we can administer.”

Both medical experts stressed the importance of wearing masks.“We still have a lot of vulnerable people who aren’t yet immunised, so they are understandably anxious,” Dr McLean said.

She added her clinics had fielded “quite a lot of questions” from parents about whether children should wear masks.

Children over 12 have to wear masks in public, but not at school.

But Dr McLean said children could contract COVID-19 and suggested masks were an extra preventive measure for them, their family and the community.

On Tuesday morning, the Queensland Government announced more than 14,580 tests had been carried out over 24 hours.

Gold Coast Health extended a “big shout-out to people who are coming out for COVID-19 testing” in a statement and said pathology labs were “working at capacity”.