NSW Covid: 30 members of one Wilcannia family contract virus

The town of Wilcannia has been hit hard by a Covid outbreak. Michael Kennedy’s immediate and extended clan have contracted the virus. He reveals the impact of the deadly disease on their small community.

The tiny town of Wilcannia does not have a town doctor, let alone a proper working hospital. The closest one is Broken Hill, 197km away.

It is 945km and an 11 hour drive from Sydney’s epicentre of the Covid outbreak, yet the microscopic virus that has killed millions around the world has found its way here.

It is a mostly Indigenous population of about 700 and now one in 10 people have Covid. It is a tinder box and the current predicament was predicted — 18 months ago.

Michael Kennedy, his wife Ingrid and their two young daughters all test positive to Covid-19 on August 17. For the past two weeks, they have been holed up together in isolation in their Wilcannia home.

“The kids got a little crook and at times it got a bit scary, but they handled it pretty well,” he said.

Michael’s Aunt Anne Curry, 52, also tested positive on August 15. His sister Mellissa, her partner Raymond Hunter and their four children are also positive. In fact, more than half of the extended Kennedy clan have Covid.

“At least 30 of us have it, on both sides of my family. One lady got flown to Adelaide, and my sister Mellissa, she got fairly crook,” Mr Kennedy said.

Michael and Ingrid Kennedy and their children have Covid. Picture: Supplied

The couple’s daughters Isla, 2, and Jayda, 10, fell sick with Covid. Picture: Supplied

Mellissa ended up with pneumonia.

“I was at hospital on Monday night and got my test back positive for corona and I have pneumonia,” she said.

Also an asthmatic, she has struggled to breathe and claims she was turned away from the medical service last week after the ambulance took her there.

“I couldn’t breathe and I was left out in the cold and I asked her why I can’t come in and she said it was for only the people who were dying. I said what, I’m sick, do you have to be dead before you go in? They left me sitting in the cold and didn’t come out and check on me,” she said.

“She went in and locked the door so I rang my partner to come pick me up.”

What is extraordinary about this story is that as surely as the dusty willy-willies sweep down the Barrier Highway into town, they knew the virus would come. The family predicted this would happen and no-one listened.

The town of Wilcannia has been struck by a Covid outbreak. Picture: New Matilda

In March 2020, as the federal government closed Australia’s borders, Anne Curry and her grandson’s made signs “It’s too dangerous to stop in Wilcannia” to ward off travellers coming to their mostly Indigenous community.

They knew then that Covid could decimate the town with its highly vulnerable population and inadequate and overcrowded housing.

“We knew, because of what is happening here now, we knew it. No-one took notice, we did, no-one else did,” the 56-year-old said.

Fast forward to September 2021, and Anne Curry is just getting over Covid. It nearly killed her, she said.

“I tested positive on August 15. My body was weak, aching with hot and cold fever, I was coughing and could hardly breathe,” Ms Curry said.

Wilcannia has a mostly Indigenous population of about 700. Picture: New Matilda

Michael Kennedy, along with Monica Kerwin from the Wilcannia Land, pleaded with state and federal health authorities at the beginning of the pandemic for an emergency plan in case Covid came to town.

“If Covid got in here we knew what it would do to our community because of our family connections. We tried to set up an emergency plan, we were asking for isolation help, how do we isolate with these families, where is the isolation facilities and food security,” Ms Kerwin said.

The Maari Ma Aboriginal health corporation also wrote to Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt, in March 2020, outlining the fears for the town.

“People were too stupid to listen,” Linda Burney, the opposition spokeswoman for Families and Social Services and first Indigenous woman to be elected to the House of Representatives said. She has a copy of the letter.

“Maari Ma health wrote to them last March, and said this is what will happen and nothing happened. They needed vaccines, isolation facilities, food security, everything that is happening now is precisely what they highlighted,” Ms Burney says.

Michael Kennedy and his sister Mellissa contracted Covid in their hometown. Picture: Supplied

Mellissa Kennedy, who is asthmatic, and her son Tyson both have Covid. Picture: Supplied

Indigenous communities should have been prioritised for vaccination, but in Wilcannia, where the Royal Flying Doctor Service are currently helping to vaccinate the township, they are playing catch-up.

“We felt it took a while to get vaccines out here, but they got them out here and it’s a little bit too late,” Kennedy said.

On August 10, Mr Kennedy posted on Facebook that a positive case had been identified in Dubbo.

“Getting close,” he said.

It is thought the virus hitched ride into town around the time of the funeral for 27-year-old Darren Bugmy held on August 13. He lived in Broken Hill but he was a Wilcannia man and as Ms Kerwin says, “you take your mob home to bury them”.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard pointed to the funeral as a “superspreader” event, but on August 13, Wilcannia was not in regional lockdown.

As Ms Kerwin quite rightly points out, anyone could have been passing through because Dubbo was given 24 hours’ notice before it went into lockdown on August 11.

“We wanted to put road blocks up, we wanted to check where travellers were coming from. Please do not stop in Wilcannia,” Ms Kerwin said.

“When it got close to Dubbo. They said they were going into lockdown, and a lot of people travelled out of there, but all we wanted to do was be locked down.

“They advertised the time of the lockdown and that gave every man and his dog the opportunity to pack up and get out, they had nowhere else to come except out our way, we were sitting ducks.”

Michael Kennedy and his immediate family have been isolating.

Michael Kennedy made a public plea for people to get vaccinated.

Now the virus is marching its way through the dusty streets. Every day three to four new cases are added to the tally, which on Saturday reached 97.

Part of the problem is a severe lack of places to isolate.

“When Covid did hit our community, they failed to check how many were living in houses, there was no PPE, and there was no one from health giving information on how to take care of those with Covid in the household, none of this information was given, it was all new to us. We could have had our plan, had those tents rigged up, we knew if one of the mob got it, the rest of us would move out,” Ms Kerwin said.

“I don’t have it but it’s knocking at my door right now I’m vulnerable, I’m diabetic, I have heart issues that’s genetic and I’m not vaccinated.

“The reason we have overcrowding problems is we won’t see our people homeless, we would overcrowd our houses to give them a roof.”

Such is the lack of places to isolate, Kerwin says some of the most vulnerable are taking shelter in the medical centre.

Mr Kennedy is hoping for a turnaround in the daily climbing numbers, but he fears it is just the beginning

“I really hope things don’t get any worse around here but my head tells me it’s going to get worse. We’re all big families out here and with our friends we all like to mix together and visit one another,” he said.

“As a victim of Covid the support from NSW Health and other organisations has been piss poor.”

Originally published as NSW Covid: 30 members of one Wilcannia family contract virus