New modelling confirms the vital importance of continuing support and resources provided to remote communities to protect them from COVID-19.
\nIndigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander people experience a burden of disease 2.3 times the rate of other Australians, which increases their risk of severe illness from the virus.
\nWhile no cases of the coronavirus have yet been reported among Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people in remote communities, the modelling shows that continuing efforts are needed to limit the effects of an outbreak.
\nMinister for Health, Greg Hunt said the Australian Government is taking the necessary actions to ensure all Australians are safe, protected and have access to appropriate health care now and beyond the COVID-19.
\n\u201cTravel restrictions to remote areas were imposed by a determination I made early in the pandemic, following requests from Aboriginal communities, organisations and leaders. These restrictions can be reinstated if needed.\u201d
\nMinister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt said the Australian Government has also worked with the Indigenous health sector to ensure communities are prepared.
\n\u201cThe Australian Government places a high priority on protecting the health of Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander people during the pandemic,\u201d Minister Wyatt said.
\n\u201cThis includes provision of point of care COVID-19 tests which can provide results within an hour, funding for community preparedness, guidance and public health advice and arrangements for medical evacuations and ongoing care, including deployment of the Royal Flying Doctors Service where needed.\u201d
\nThe modelling released today reinforces the importance of these preparations and of engaging with remote communities about how they will respond and the support available to them.
\nIt shows that by the time one case of coronavirus is confirmed in a remote community, many
\nmore people may have been infected.
\nMinister Hunt said, \u201cThis means a single confirmed case of COVID-19 should be treated as
\nan outbreak, triggering a rapid response by local, state or territory and national governments.
\nThis would include isolation of patients, quarantine of contacts and possible whole of
\ncommunity lockdown.\u201d
\nThe modelling also highlights the need for all people to get tested if they have even mild
\nsymptoms, because finding the first case quickly will be key to stopping the spread.
\nAustralian Government measures to support remote communities include:
\ntargeted flexible grants to 56 community organisations covering 121 remote
\ncommunities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services and local
\nhealth clinics, to support planning and preparedness activities:<\/p>\n
The importance of these actions, and the lessons from the modelling are all reflected in the\u00a0Management Plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Populations<\/a>\u00a0that has been New modelling confirms the vital importance of continuing support and resources provided to remote communities to protect them from COVID-19. Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander people experience a burden of disease 2.3 times the rate of other Australians, which increases their risk of severe illness from the virus. While no cases of the coronavirus … Continue reading “Support for remote Indigenous communities at high risk from COVID-19”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7806\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nguiding the response since March, and the updated\u00a0National Guidance for remote Aboriginal
\nand Torres Strait Islander Communities for COVID-19<\/a>.
\nThe modelling was conducted for the Australian Government by the University of Melbourne
\nand the Kirby Institute pandemic modelling team, guided by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
\nIslander Advisory Group on COVID-19 and endorsed for release by the Australian Health
\nProtection Principal Committee (AHPPC).
\nModelling results can be found here:<\/p>\n\n