More Grafton Covid cases uncovered
By Tim Howard
There will be more Covid-19 cases arising from the four discovered in Grafton earlier this week, but authorities hope a lockdown won’t be needed.
While the rest of NSW is planning how it will come out of lockdown, the Clarence Valley finds itself holding its breath while investigations continue into a cluster that emerged on Tuesday.
Health authorities said contact tracers were still working, but there would be an announcement of more cases on Friday.
Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis was hopeful a strict lockdown would not be needed to deal with at least four cases that were uncovered Grafton on Tuesday.
“I asked (Northern NSW Local Health District acting CEO) Lynne Weir if it meant we’d go into lockdown, but she said it was too early to tell,” Mr Gulaptis said.
“With the rest of the State opening up on Monday unless there is a significant number of cases, I can’t see us going into lockdown.”
Health authorities have contact tracers investigating the extent of the spread of the disease in the Clarence, but would not put a number on any new cases.
A spokesperson for the Northern NSW Local Health District said NSW Health contact tracers were tracking down contacts and places those infected had visited.
“It there’s a private venue with one or two cases, that won’t be identified, but if it’s a public venue, then it will be named,” the spokesperson said.
A list of close contact venues could be released later today or on Friday.
Behind the scenes health staff in the region have concerns the vaccine mandate could force a number of resignations as case numbers threaten to grow.
One source said at least three nurses at Grafton would resign or have resigned because of mandatory Covid-19 vaccination.
But the health district was not concerned about staffing.
Ms Weir said during the early stages of the pandemic, it sourced additional equipment, including ventilators, and we regularly review our stocks and supply chains of resources, including PPE and pharmacy items, to ensure adequate supplies.
“Our workforce has been increased and up-skilled, with more than 265 staff attending surge training in intensive care, emergency care and immunisation specialties to provide additional capacity if needed,” Ms Weir said.
“Between mid-2012 and mid-2021, NNSWLHD increased its workforce by an additional 1219 full-time equivalent staff – an increase of 32.3 per cent including 211 more doctors, 461 more nurses and midwives, and 141 more allied health staff.
“It is important to remember that the vast majority of people who have COVID-19 do not require hospitalisation. Most will have mild disease and be able to isolate at their own home, or have clinical staff support them through community care.”
She said leave requests were also scrutinised carefully to ensure they did not conflict with staffing requirements.
She said the public was able to play a major part in combating the virus.
“To reduce the rate of serious illness, hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, vaccination on a national scale is essential,” she said.
“The more community members who are vaccinated against COVID-19, the better protected our region will be from any future outbreaks.”
Mr Gulaptis thanked the Clarence community for its vaccination uptake.
“While our region is seeing a steady increase each week, we can’t take our foot off the pedal if we want to hit the 70 and 80 percent double vaccination milestones,” he said.
“New figures show the Clarence Valley has reached 83.9% single dose and 50.3% double dose and in the Richmond Valley 78.7% have had their first dose and 49.8 their second dose.
“This is comparable with other regional areas. Overall, first dose rates in the region are increasing about 5% per week, which is on par with national vaccination trends.”
