30 July 2021
The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service has tested the equivalent of almost their population and quarantined enough people to fill the city’s convention centre almost twice over since the pandemic started.
Raw numbers reveal the scale of the Cairns and Hinterland 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, 71 have been recorded in the Cairns and Hinterland region, including 65 recovered and 0 currently active*.
“Around 80 per cent of Queensland’s cases have been acquired overseas, with a large portion detected in quarantine, and this is reflective in the Cairns and Hinterland HHS region,” Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said.
“And the majority of our locally-acquired cases were safely isolating while they were infectious, instead of risking the health of others in the community, which is a fantastic result.”
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.
Tina Chinery, Chief Executive of Cairns and Hinterland HHS thanked the local community and visitors for their response.
“Locals and visitors alike have stepped up to be tested and vaccinated – this sense of responsibility is to be congratulated,”
“Our beautiful region, it’s tourist attractions and our international airport means Cairns has often been on the frontline of the nation’s COVID-19 response.
“I’m incredibly proud of how the community has worked with us to protect our region,” Tina said.
Dr Young said Queensland’s vaccine roll-out had progressed well given the nation’s issues sourcing supplies.
As of 29 July 2021, Cairns and Hinterland HHS has administered 62,703 COVID-19 vaccinations, including 58,701 Pfizer doses and 4,002 AstraZeneca doses.
As of 29 July 2021, Cairns and Hinterland HHS has:
- Completed 131,853 tests on 79,021 people (including public and private facilities)
- Had 9,052 people receive a quarantine notice
- 26 females and 45 males tests positive to COVID-19
- Age breakdown of COVID-19 cases:
- 0 aged 0-9
- 0 aged 10-19
- 9 aged 20-29
- 13 aged 30-39
- 19 aged 40-49
- 13 aged 50-59
- 13 aged 60-69
- 4 aged 70-79
- 0 aged 80-89
*Data caveat on active cases: active cases may be reported by Hospital and Health Service of treatment, or by a patient’s usual place of residence. Therefore, some active cases may be reported as active in a particular HHS but may not be reported in that HHS’s case total.