Full figures show sheer scope of Townsville HHS COVID-19 response

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30 July 2021

The Townsville Hospital and Health Service has tested enough people to fill the Queensland Country Bank stadium three times over and supported 3,790 people (just shy of the population of Ingham) through hotel quarantine since the pandemic began.

Raw numbers reveal the scale of the Townsville 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, 34 have been recorded in the Townsville HHS region and all have since recovered.

“Almost 80 per cent our cases have been acquired overseas, with a large portion of those detected in quarantine, and this is reflective in the Townsville region” Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said.

“And a significant amount 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 Queenslanders. Dr Young said the responsible actions of Queenslanders undoubtedly prevented more tragedies.

Townsville Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive Kieran Keyes said he was immensely proud of the Townsville community.

“The Townsville community have continued to respond in an excellent fashion by coming out to get tested,” Mr Keyes said.

“It doesn’t feel like that long ago we were celebrating ten thousand tests and now we’re about to celebrate one hundred thousand.

“It just goes to show that our locals are willing to take the right actions to keep both themselves and their community safe.”

Dr Young said Queensland’s vaccine roll-out had progressed well given the nation’s issues sourcing supplies.

As of 29 July 2021, Townsville HHS has administered 50,498 COVID-19 vaccinations, including 48,503 Pfizer doses and 1,995 AstraZeneca doses.

“The fact that we’ve had almost fifty thousand locals come through to receive their vaccines across our health service shows just how dedicated everyone is to getting back to normal life,” Mr Keyes said.

“We know the vaccine is one of the best actions we can take to protect ourselves and the vulnerable people around us.

“The COVID-19 vaccination centre here at Townsville University Hospital has seen incredible numbers through since it’s inception, so much so that we’ve had to expand services to a larger facility to keep up with demand.

“The facility will open at 1-3 Woodman Court, West End from August 2.”

As of 29 July 2021, Townsville HHS has:

  • Completed 127,296 tests on 80,584 people (including public and private facilities)
  • Had 3,790 people have received a quarantine notice
  • 9 females and 25 males tests positive to COVID-19
  • Age breakdown of COVID-19 cases:
    • 0 aged 0-9
    • 2 aged 10-19
    • 7 aged 20-29
    • 10 aged 30-39
    • 3 aged 40-49
    • 7 aged 50-59
    • 4 aged 60-69
    • 1 aged 70-79
    • 0 aged 80-89