‘Virus is coming’ message to FNQ
QUEENSLAND Health Minister Yvette D’Ath was in Cairns to announce a new vaccination hub, but it was a deputy not the sheriff who delivered the tough love for the region.
On Thursday at the Cairns Convention Centre vaccination hub, Ms D’Ath revealed Cairns Airport’s new vaccination centre was ready for takeoff.
But it was deputy chief health officer James Smith who delivered a harsher message.
“The virus is absolutely coming,” he said. “There’s no way we can stop it borders or not, it is coming to Queensland. And while the community is generally coming on board with vaccination what we’re really worried about is pockets of vaccination coverage out there, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities but also other pockets within the broader community where we have low vaccination coverage, we’re really worried that the virus may rip through those communities.”
Dr Smith said the more people vaccinated the more freedoms the rest of the community will have.
“Each person who gets vaccinated is not just protecting themselves, but they’re reducing their ability to spread the infection,” he said,
“Therefore it will also lower the burden on our hospital system.”
While Ms D’Ath said she was concerned about Cairns’ low vaccination rates, she confirmed rapid antigen testing would not be used to detect travellers at Cairns Airport.
“We will continue the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing at this stage, particularly for the border controls because the accuracy is so high,” she said.
Cairns Airport boss Richard Barker said being the gateway to FNQ meant it needed to also keep in mind the importance of protecting remote communities which could be at risk.
“So we’ve set up with Queensland Health a drop-in centre for vaccinations,” he said. “You don’t need to be travelling, you can get vaccinated at any time from Friday between 6.30am and 1pm and we’re providing free parking.”
The airport’s vaccination clinic is expected to run for at least three weeks.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen urged people to roll up their sleeves and get the jab as one in five jobs in Cairns is tourism related.
“A billion dollars of visitor expenditure comes into this Cairns community every year from international tourism,” he said.
“It supports jobs, and supports a vibrant community, our quality of life is underpinned by the tourism community domestically and internationally so there’s no longer an excuse to not have your vaccination.”
Ms D’Ath appealed to Far North residents not to be outdone by their city counterpart.
“We know that Cairns vaccination rates are 10 per cent below Brisbane’s right now,” she said. “So Cairns come on, we know you’re competitive, you don’t want Brisbane to beat you, get those numbers up.”