Transmission still issue for GP

LIKELY community transmission and the potential for undiagnosed COVID-19 cases has a Cairns-based GP warning people to remain vigilant despite no new infections in the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service area.

Across the state yesterday Queensland had 40 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, raising the state total to 781.

The new state total came as Queensland Health released details of six flights arriving in Cairns from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne which carried three coronavirus positive passengers.

“Queensland Health is continuing contact tracing of flights with a confirmed case of COVID-19 which arrived in Queensland up until midnight Wednesday, March 25,” a spokesman said.

Despite Queensland Health advice that the “majority of cases are from patients who have travelled overseas”, Cairns GP Aileen Traves was confident local community transmission had taken place.

“I think that’s unlikely there is huge widespread transmission throughout the community. I don’t think we are at that level or we would be seeing more sick people,” she said.

“But undoubtedly there will be some cases and we might have more than just the 24 cases in the community. But I don’t think we have it spreading like wildfire through the community yet.

“It’s a bit confusing when they (Queensland Heath) publish on their website there is proof of community transmission but we have no community transmission.

“At this point we don't have very widespread community transmission but we do have an alert from a wrestling match saying it was transmitted in a cluster in the community.”

A spokeswoman for Queensland Health told the Cairns Post “we are yet to see sustained community transmission in our state”.

Growing numbers of people believing they had contracted the virus triggered the rollout of a drive-through fever clinic that began testing from the Cairns North Community Health Centre yesterday.

CHHHS executive director of medical services, Dr Don Mackie, said the clinics help to keep people who may be contagious away from other areas of hospitals and health centres in combination with providing testing.

“This helps to reduce the potential spread of the virus and keeps the emergency department available for emergencies,” he said.

ANDREA FALVO

AN INTRAVENOUS therapy method to fill your body with large quantities of essential vitamins has taken off across the Far North.

Since the breakout of the coronavirus, Cryo Cairns has experienced an increase in people opting take their vitamins through an IV.

Owner Peter Daley has been offering a “cocktail” of intravenous services for about three years, but has experienced a rise in business in recent weeks.

“All our other services have dropped off, like Cryotherapy and body sculpting, but definitely the IV and particularly the vitamin C infusion has gone right up,” he said.

“We’ve been doing about 50 a week.

“I also do home visits, I’ve got cancer patients and elderly patients that don’t like to go out.”

Receiving an IV takes 45 minutes to an hour and is more