Mackay Covid: Region records 78 new cases as changes made to teenage booster shots

Mackay health district has recorded 78 new Covid cases as state officials made changes to booster shot eligibility. READ THE LATEST

Mackay’s health district has recorded a significant drop in positive Covid cases as some teenagers have been given the green light to get their booster shots three months after their second dose.

The Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday regions recorded just 78 new cases on Thursday, after 256 positive results were returned the day before.

Total active cases in the past seven days has dropped to 1115, while 13 patients are on the Covid ward in hospital and 48 are being treated on Mackay Base Hospital’s virtual ward.

The low case numbers are attributed to people not getting tested or not recording their positive status, rather than a reduction in Omicron’s spread.

Mackay’s high vaccination rates, 92.7 per cent as of Monday this week, are also considered a factor.

Queensland recorded 8643 new cases on Thursday, bringing the state’s total to 431,859.

The state also recorded nine deaths, with one person in their 60s, two in their 70s, three in their 80s, one in their 90s and two older than 100.

Of the deaths, three were unvaccinated, one had a single dose, four were fully vaccinated and one person had received their booster shot.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said a study “to get a better idea of what is really happening” revealed one in six random tests conducted across the Gold Coast had returned positive for asymptomatic cases.

“There were people walking around the Gold Coast who had no idea they had Covid-19,” he said.

“A lot of people that have been infected are completely unaware they were infected, that number is significant.”

Almost 90 per cent of 16 and 17 year olds had received their second vaccination, and will be available to received a booster shot from Tuesday.

Residents in Mackay’s health district received 302 vaccinations on Wednesday, meaning a total of 129,580 jabs have been administered across the regions.

116 Mackay cases as public servants ordered to return to work

Mackay’s health district recorded another 116 positive Covid cases as the Queensland Premier ordered public servants to return back to their workplaces.

The total number of cases receiving treatment in hospital dropped from 12 to nine, while 45 are receiving care on the Mackay Base Hospital virtual ward.

Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday’s total active cases dropped to 1204, with the Hospital and Health Services recently adjusting its definitions to include just positive results in the past week.

Queensland Health still records cases from the past two weeks in its definitions, so Mackay’s case number is 4522, while Isaac is at 510 and Whitsunday is 1772.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was important for Queensland to support the local communities.

“We want to see people come back in a way that they can contribute to the economy,” she said.

“We’re just going through this peak … but there’s still no reason why you can’t support local businesses.”

Queensland recorded 7588 new cases on Tuesday, to bring the total number of active cases to 413,670.

The state has 868 currently in hospital, with 54 receiving treatment in intensive care units.

Queensland recorded 10 Covid deaths across the state, bringing the virus’ death toll to 209 and 202 since the start of December.

More than half have been in aged care, with eight of the 10 overnight deaths coming inside the facilities across the state.

Out of the 10 deaths, there were two in their 70s, four in their 80s and four in their nineties.

Two were unvaccinated, eight had two doses and none had received a booster shot.

Third Covid death as region records 171 new cases

Mackay has recorded its third Covid death as the region records another 171 new positive cases.

The person, aged in their 70s, was one of Queensland’s 12 deaths attributed to the virus on January 30.

Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday’s total active cases moved to 1311 after 171 new positive tests on Monday, while 12 are being treated at Mackay Base Hospital.

Mackay Hospital and Health Services recently changed its definition on active cases, only counting cases in the past week.

Queensland Health still includes positive results across the past two weeks for its active cases definition, which for the Mackay region is 4405, 499 for Isaac and 1760 for Whitsunday.

Queensland recorded 7462 new cases in the past 24 hours, with 50 of the 821 hospitalised patients in the intensive care units around the state.

The sunshine state eclipsed 400,000 active cases for the first time since the pandemic began, with 406,129 recorded on January 31.

Mackay Hospital and Health Services conducted 454 PCR tests and administered 169 vaccinations in the past 24 hours.

Of Queensland’s eligible population, 91.98 per cent have received their first dose, while 89.53 per cent are full vaccinated.

More than 1.4 million Queenslanders have received a booster shot, but only 67 per cent of 12 to 15 year olds were double dosed.

Health minister Yvette D'Ath at a Covid update at 1 William Street, Brisbane. Picture: John Gass

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the state was not “through the wave”, and the public health unit would assess how to handle school outbreaks.

“It’s not that every school would close down or whole classrooms need to quarantine (in the event of an outbreak), she said.

“It’ll depend on whether that child was unwell at school and the public health unit will still do the normal contact tracing to define who needs to go into quarantine as a close contact.”

Originally published as Mackay Covid: Region records 78 new cases as changes made to teenage booster shots