HOPE RETURNS IN LONG COVID FIGHT

THIS time last year the Gold Coast – and the rest of the world – was in search of hope. Sydney was in lockdown, the Queensland border was shut to hotspots, Covid vaccines were yet to hit the market, many New Year’s Eve celebrations were binned and America was days away from political and civil armageddon with the storming of the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC.

Twelve months on, the world remains in the dark grip of the pandemic. Europe has been swamped by the new Omicron variant that is about to dump on Queensland and the mixed messages of governments continue to mess with people’s lives.

However, unlike the shady climate of late 2020, there is hope.

Yes, Australia’s eastern border is becoming awash with positive cases but, as Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard deliberately pointed out yesterday, the tale of Covid today is different to the mire we have waded through for almost two years.

At the end of June 2020, Australia had 8566 positive cases. Two-hundred-and-four people were in intensive care units and 30 had died from Covid. Since Queensland opened its border to southern hotspots on December 13, the state has recorded 8586 cases. The difference, however, is that not one person has entered ICU, and nobody has died.

Dr Gerrard expects the ICU figure to change in coming days as case numbers mount, but insists “not only is the spread of this virus inevitable, it is necessary. In order for us to go from the pandemic phase to an endemic phase, the virus has to be widespread.”

As we farewell another tough year dominated by a virus that lingers longer than the mother-in-law, we must take heed of that health advice and remind ourselves we are slowly winning the war against Covid.

Health experts say people will get the virus; many will have mild symptoms, others won’t even know. If we continue to be responsible, get booster shots, respect others and isolate if feeling unwell, we may not be talking about it in the same light this time next year.