Record spike as 1470 Covid cases added to Cairns’ tally
Cairns has registered another record jump in Covid cases overnight, with the tally growing by more than 1000 as there are changes from midday today to rules around close contacts
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Cairns has registered another record jump in Covid cases overnight, with the tally growing by 1470 as there are changes from midday today to rules around close contacts.
According to Queensland Health data, the infection source of 2,610 cases remain under investigation in the Cairns Regional Council area.
It takes the number of cases in the Cairns region since the start of the pandemic from 2871 on Saturday to 4341 on Sunday.
Queensland cases are expected to peak in the last week of January or first week of February.
Changes to rules around close contacts were announced on Sunday to help secure food supply.
Ms Palaszczuk said workers at power stations, teachers, water sewerage supplies, agriculture and fisheries and health workers would be able to go to work if they were a close contact but had no symptoms.
SATURDAY:
Cairns has registered another record jump in Covid cases overnight, with the tally growing by 739 as two deaths are recorded across the state.
It takes the number of cases in the Cairns region since the start of the pandemic from 2132 to 2871.
According to Queensland Health data, the infection source of 1,640 cases in the Cairns Regional Council area remain under investigation.
While there were two deaths from Covid across the state.
Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard confirmed the two newly announced deaths were both men in their 30s.
Across the state there have been 11,174 new recorded cases. Seventeen people are in intensive care and three are on ventilator.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath pleaded with people in their 20s and 30s to get vaccinated after the most recent deaths.
FRIDAY:
CAIRNS and Hinterland has registered another record jump in Covid cases overnight, with the tally growing by 555 cases.
It takes the total number of cases in the Cairns region since the start of the pandemic from 1577 on Thursday to 2132 on Friday.
According to Queensland Health data, 245 of the cases are active.
1591 of the cases are registered to the Cairns Regional Council local government area – an increase of 468 in 24 hours.
The infection source of 1140 of them remains under investigation.
Rise in Cape/Torres cases
The Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service has recorded 32 new cases overnight.
There are currently 169 active cases in the region and chief executive Beverley Hamerton said local transmission was now evident in the communities.
“Numbers can be expected to continue rising substantially,” she said.
“As such, Torres Strait, Cape York and Northern Peninsula Area residents should be in no doubt that Covid-19 is well and truly present in our communities.”
The new cases include the first confirmed case for Kowanyama.
The person was in Kowanyama from 9am Tuesday until 7pm Thursday but is now in isolation in Cairns.
The TCHHS has identified no close contacts in Kowanyama.
Yarrabah cases confirmed
Health authorities also confirmed more cases of Covid-19 in Yarrabah.
Two healthcare workers tested positive on Thursday, taking the community’s tally to three cases.
Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service chief executive Suzanne Andrews confirmed the positive results from healthcare workers attached to Yarrabah Hospital and Gurriny Yealamucka.
“Both staff members were fully vaccinated in line with the Queensland Health mandate, and pose a moderate to low risk to others in the community,” Ms Andrews said.
“It was inevitable that we would see Covid cases within our community, given our proximity to Cairns and the many cases within the wider region.
“Some of our healthcare workers live in Cairns, commuting daily to work, we were always a community at risk.”
Staff and patients who were close contacts of the case will all be contacted and offered testing.
Gurriny Yealamucka and Yarrabah ED are increasing testing and vaccination services in Yarrabah.
THURSDAY:
The number of new cases of Covid-19 in the Cairns region swelled by hundreds overnight Wednesday, while cases also increased sharply in one Cape York town in particular.
An additional 414 cases have been added to the Cairns and Hinterland tally, taking the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic from 1163 on Wednesday to 1577 on Thursday.
More than 350 of the new cases are in the Cairns Regional Council local government area and the infection source for the majority of them remains under investigation.
Seventeen cases were also added to Douglas Shire’s tally and 15 to the Cassowary Coast.
Six were confirmed for Mareeba while the Tablelands’ tally has grown by seven.
As of Thursday there were also 137 active cases in the Torres and Cape area.
Lakeland now has the most cases in the region with 47, which spiked from 15 on Wednesday.
Weipa has 34 cases, and Cooktown has 21.
Wujal Wujal, Hopevale, Horn Island and Injinoo all now have cases.
Authorities say a case attributed to Saibai Island is not a resident of the island and they did not enter the community.
Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service chief executive Beverley Hamerton said all but one of the active cases were being managed at home.
“One case is an inpatient being managed in hospital. However, this case’s hospitalisation is for a condition unrelated to Covid,” she said.
She urged residents to get their Covid-19 vaccine.
“I cannot emphasise enough, the best thing people can do to protect themselves is to ensure they are fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine and that they have their booster dose when it comes due,” she said.
“We can’t eliminate Covid-19, but we will be better protected when vaccinated, particularly as community transmission increases.
“While being vaccinated will not prevent you getting COVID-19, vaccination has been proven to reduce the severity of the illness and help keep you out of hospital and, especially, out of intensive care.”
Several more exposure venues have been released for the Cape and Torres region, with individuals who have attended the sites advised to only get tested if they develop symptoms.
Thursday Island:
31 December – Qantas Flight QF2490
3 January – Qantas Flight QF2496
Bamaga:
31 December – Skytrans Flight QN43
Weipa:
2 January – Qantas Flight QF 2482
3 January – Qantas Flight QF 2482, Alliance Flight QQ7240, Qantas Flight QF 2478
The Far North’s new cases are among 10,332 overnight cases across Queensland, though chief health officer Dr John Gerrard says the number is a “gross underestimation”.
WEDNESDAY: The total number of Covid cases in the Cairns region since the start of the pandemic has now passed 1000 after 196 new cases were recorded overnight.
The total number of cases in the region during the pandemic spiked from 967 on Tuesday to 1163 on Wednesday.
More than 150 of the new cases are from the Cairns Regional Council local government area, and the infection source of 93 of them is under investigation.
Cassowary Coast Regional Council cases spiked by 11, while Douglas, Mareeba and Tablelands areas also registered multiple cases.
Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service chief executive Beverley Hamerton confirmed cases had also risen across the region overnight.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 13 new cases were identified, taking the tally of active cases in the region to 71.
Weipa has 20 cases, Thursday Island 19, Lakeland 15, Cooktown 10, Bamaga 3, Rossville 2, Lockhart River 1 and Saibai Island 1.
Ms Hamerton confirmed all cases were being managed at home.
The Far North’s case rise comes as Queensland recorded 6781 new cases overnight.
Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said the “real number (of cases) was significantly higher” than the number recorded.
With testing facilities still at capacity across the state, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed 18 million rapid antigen tests would be distributed across the state from Thursday.
“We need to make it very, very simple to our most vulnerable people at this time,” she said.
TUESDAY: The Covid tally for the Cairns region has soared by 221 cases overnight while Cape and Torres residents have been urged to “re-think their need to be out and about in the community” as cases mount.
Cairns’ spike has taken the total number of cases in Cairns and Hinterland during the pandemic from 746 on Monday to 967 on Tuesday.
It comes health authorities confirmed Yarrabah recorded its first case of the virus.
Of the 178 new cases listed for the Cairns Regional Council area, 42 were locally acquired from a known source and 41 from an unknown source. Four were acquired interstate.
The infection source of 91 new cases remains under investigation.
According to Queensland Health data, 28 of the new cases have so far been attributed to the Douglas Shire.
At least 14 are from the Cassowary Coast, eight are in Mareeba and four are on the Tablelands.
A Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman said as of 5pm Monday, six patients were in Cairns Hospital while 163 people were being managed in the community.
The Cape and Torres tally rose by 24 cases on Tuesday, with 58 cases now active in the region.
Seventeen of them are in Weipa, 14 on Thursday Island, 12 in Lakeland, eight in Cooktown, three in Bamaga, two in Rossville, one in Lockhart River and one on Saibai Island.
Cape and Torres Hospital and Health Service chief executive Beverley Hamerton said all active cases were being managed at home.
“We are urging people to re-think their need to be out and about in the community,” she said.
“Before going to visit someone who is vulnerable or attending a crowded venue, you should think carefully about the risk posed to yourself and to others.
“The best thing people can do to protect themselves is to ensure they are fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine and that they have their booster dose when it comes due.”
Residents are also urged to wear masks as directed, practice social distancing and good hygiene, including frequent washing of hands with sanitiser.
“You should always get tested if you have symptoms, no matter how mild,” Ms Hamerton said.
EARLIER: A staff member at Yarrabah Hospital has tested positive to Covid, health authorities say.
The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service and Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service Aboriginal Corporation confirmed the case late Monday.
The announcement came as Cairns recorded 160 cases in 24 hours and numbers grew across the Cape as well.
“At this stage we believe the risk is moderate to low,” Gurriny Yealamucka said in a statement.
“Staff and patients who were close contacts of the case will all be contacted and offered testing.
“No other cases have been reported from Yarrabah to date.”
Gurriny Yealamucka and Yarrabah ED are increasing testing and vaccination services in Yarrabah.
Residents are urged to get vaccinated at the Workshop Street clinic, and get tested as soon as any symptoms develop, no matter how mild.
Yarrabah has had one of the worst Covid vaccination rates in Queensland.
As of December 20, 56.9 per cent of residents were fully vaccinated, compared to 86.2 per cent in Cairns.
EARLIER: The Far North has recorded a triple-digit spike in Covid cases on Monday as numbers soar across Queensland.
In a 24-hour period, 160 additional cases were recorded in the Cairns and Hinterland region.
It means a total of 746 cases have now been detected in the region since the state of the pandemic.
According to Queensland Health data, the majority of cases are attributed to the Cairns Regional Council area, followed by Douglas Shire Council, Mareeba Shire Council, and Tablelands Shire Council.
The Cassowary Coast area has had the least number of cases so far.
Hundreds of the region’s cases remain under investigation regarding infection sources.
Several more cases have also been recorded in Cape York and the Torres Strait overnight.
A Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service spokesperson said as of 1pm Monday there were 37 active cases.
They include 10 on Thursday Island, 11 in Weipa, one in Bamaga, 12 in Lakeland and three in Cooktown.
“All active cases are being managed at home,” the spokesperson said.
The TCHHS is continuing to post local exposure sites when they can be confirmed.
The Far North’s new cases are among 4249 recorded in Queensland overnight.
There are now 10 Covid patients in ICU, including one on a ventilator, while 147 people are in hospital.
Authorities are also investigating the sudden death of a Queensland man in his 30s.
Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said the man died from “probable” Covid-19.
It comes as Dr Gerrard warned that all Queenslanders would be exposed to Covid within weeks.
He said it was more important than ever to get the booster shot as two doses were unlikely to protect people from contracting the virus.
“It clearly is protective,” he said of the booster.
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Originally published as Record spike as 1470 Covid cases added to Cairns’ tally
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