A low burden of severe illness: the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak in the remote Torres and Cape region of Far North Queensland

A coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was declared in the remote Torres and Cape region of Far North Queensland soon after the Queensland border opened for quarantine-free domestic travel in December 2021, with a total of 7,784 cases notified during the first ten-month outbreak period. We r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Communicable Diseases Intelligence
Main Authors: Taunton, Caroline, Hawthorn, Leanne, Matysek, Rittia, Coates, Marlow, Pickering, Emma, Neville, Johanna, Hanson, Josh, Smith, Simon, Hempenstall, Allison
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care 2023
Subjects:
Clinical Research
Clinical Trials and Supportive Activities
Prevention
Vaccine Related
3 Good Health and Well Being
Humans
Australia
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
COVID-19
COVID-19 Vaccines
Disease Outbreaks
Queensland
Cost of Illness
Torres Strait Islands
Cape York
First Nations
Omicron
anzsrc-for: 1103 Clinical Sciences
anzsrc-for: 1117 Public Health and Health Services
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_84315
https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/bitstreams/b6bce517-79d7-48a3-abc7-e9bd50849c14/download
https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2023.47.41
Description
Summary:A coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was declared in the remote Torres and Cape region of Far North Queensland soon after the Queensland border opened for quarantine-free domestic travel in December 2021, with a total of 7,784 cases notified during the first ten-month outbreak period. We report a crude attack rate among residents of 25.6% (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 25.1–26.1%), a hospitalisation rate of 1.6% (95% CI: 1.3–1.9%) and a crude case fatality rate of 0.05% (95% CI: 0.01–0.13%). Hospitalisation and case fatality rates were similar among First Nations and non-Indigenous people, with double dose COVID-19 vaccination rates higher among First Nations than non-Indigenous people by the end of the outbreak period. We attribute the low burden of severe illness to local community leadership, community engagement, vaccination coverage and recency, and community participation in a local culturally considered COVID-19 care-in-the-home program.

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