On March 6, 2020, Hunter New England Local Health District registered our first case of COVID-19.
We had been watching as the pandemic unfolded overseas and made its way to Australia, and suddenly it was in our own backyard; everyone braced for what was to come.
One year on, the pandemic has become the new normal. With the vaccine rollout underway, we've moved from fearful to hopeful; a very different outlook to 12 months ago.
Throughout the pandemic our district has seen 317 cases of COVID-19. Because of the tireless work from governments, health services and the community we have not had a case in the Hunter New England area since August 2020, and it's been weeks since we've seen a locally acquired case in NSW.
I'm so proud of the response from the health services and the broader community in pulling together, rallying to ensure we did what was needed to bring the virus under control.
While there is still some time before we can go back to pre-COVID life, we are in great stead to ensure the virus stays at bay. The start of the Australian government COVID-19 vaccine rollout last month is an exciting step. While 2020 was the year of COVID-19, 2021 is very much the year of the vaccine and I encourage everyone to embrace the opportunity to get the jab when it's your turn.
While 2020 was the year of COVID-19, 2021 is the year of the vaccine
While many were glad to see the end of 2020, I look back and I can see so much to be proud of in our response to the virus.
Testing quickly became a key focus early in the pandemic, so we could detect the presence of the virus and act to contain it as quickly as possible. Soon we were looking at innovative ways to make testing more convenient while maximising physical distancing. In March 2020, we opened the Belmont Hospital COVID-19 drive-through clinic, one of the first drive-through testing clinics in the state. This provided the blueprint for further clinics, including the first mega drive-through in NSW at McDonald Jones Stadium.
While football was on hold for the season, it was game on for testing. The six-lane clinic allowed us to swab close to 8000 people in a 10-day period.
By June 2020, our district had already completed more than 50,000 tests, which was higher than the NSW average testing rate. People heeded the call and presented to testing centres across the district and we truly thank people for this. It is such a vital tool in helping to detect and stop any community transmission of the virus.
Today, the total number of tests has increased significantly, reaching 460,825. And it's still climbing.
We haven't just been testing people - we've been testing sewage. Someone with COVID-19 will shed the virus allowing us to detect it in one of our 11 sewage catchments across the district, which continue to be tested as part of a research program. If we find it in the sewer we know that the virus is lurking. Identifying the sewage catchment allowed us to focus our testing efforts to where we were more likely to find the virus.
When we find a case, our contact tracers act quickly to interview cases, identify close contacts and determine a possible source of infection. In the past year they have contacted about 5000 people; true heroes of the pandemic.
They're joined by our frontline staff. Over the past year we have treated 70 patients for COVID-19 in our hospitals, with four needing care in our intensive care units. In addition, 32 received care in their homes via our COVID Care in the Home service.
The Care in the Home service allowed us to keep COVID-19 patients out of hospitals. This was key to ensuring our facilities were safer for everyone, including those who ended up in our care the conventional way. Even though COVID-19 dominated the headlines, people still had heart-attacks or needed patching up after falling off ladders and we continued to be there for them, too.
On top of preparing our team to care for those infected with COVID-19, we undertook a significant process to set up our facilities. We built surge capacity and dedicated wards, opened clinics, armed ourselves with extra PPE, readied our ventilators, and even worked with external agencies to create new ones.
The past 12 months have been challenging to say the least, but I am encouraged by our dedicated staff who have persevered through long days and nights to keep our community safe.
Our community has stuck by us throughout the many ups and downs of this pandemic, and I have been inspired by their continued resilience. As we enter our second year of the pandemic, I am looking forward with optimism.
We have the experience of the past year to prove that, whatever 2021 brings, we will rise to the challenge.
