30 July 2021
The Mackay Hospital and Health Service has tested the equivalent of Proserpine’s population 10 times over and quarantined an average of 27 people a week since the pandemic started.
Raw numbers reveal the scale of the Mackay HHS’s COVID-19 response.
Since the Australia’s first case was confirmed on 25 January 2020, Queensland has recorded 1,793 cases. Of these, 31 have been recorded in the Mackay region, all of whom have recovered.
“Around 80 per cent of Queensland’s cases have been acquired overseas, with a large portion detected in quarantine,” Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said.
“In Mackay, all cases were returned international travellers and their close contacts, and there has been no community transmission.”
Sadly, the virus has claimed the lives of seven people in Queensland, with Dr Young saying the responsible actions of Queenslanders undoubtedly prevented more tragedies.
Mackay Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive Lisa Davies Jones congratulated the community for their excellent response to the pandemic.
“Our Public Health Unit, the COVID-19 testing clinic, emergency departments and our vaccination teams have all worked incredibly hard to help keep their community safe.
Ms Davies Jones said the Public Health Unit had worked tirelessly since the start of the pandemic and was still busy meeting flights at airports and managing the various public health directions to keep the community safe.
“The team has screened all flights arriving from Sydney and Melbourne at Whitsunday and Hamilton Island airports since 8 May this year. Some of these passengers have been placed into quarantine and others returned to their point of origin.
“You can imagine these are often difficult conversations to have with people hoping to reunite with family and friends, attend weddings or have the holiday of a lifetime in the beautiful Whitsundays.”
Public Health also works with maritime crews, providing assistance with COVID-19 testing and facilitating attendance at medical appointments.
Ms Davies Jones said the community was also responding well to vaccinating against COVID-19.
“Our vaccination clinics are well attended and we are looking forward to opening a larger community vaccination hub in the near future.”
Dr Young said Queensland’s vaccine roll-out had progressed well given the nation’s issues sourcing supplies.
As of 29 July 2021, Mackay HHS has administered 14,808 COVID-19 vaccinations, including 9,782 Pfizer doses and 5,026 AstraZeneca doses.
As of 29 July 2021, Mackay HHS has:
- Completed 49,334 tests on 36,770 people (including public and private facilities)
- Had 1,735 people receive a quarantine notice
- 13 females and 18 males tests positive to COVID-19
- Age breakdown of COVID-19 cases:
- 1 aged 0-9
- 0 aged 10-19
- 9 aged 20-29
- 13 aged 30-39
- 2 aged 40-49
- 3 aged 50-59
- 1 aged 60-69
- 1 aged 70-79
- 1 aged 80-89