The community of Yarrabah in Queensland's far north has a population of 3,500.
There’s just under 400 homes in the community, and they’re bursting at the seams.
On average 10 people live in a three bedroom home.
At Emma Costello’s home there’s nine adults and four children.
When her son, Jeremiah, tested positive for COVID-19 a few weeks ago Ms Costello feared the worst for her family.
“We all got a shock and were all scared a bit for our own health,” she told NITV’s The Point.
“We were just a bit afraid.”
Jeremiah isolated in one of the bedroom’s in the house, Ms Costello said he didn’t come out much, only to use the bathroom.
Nine adults and four children live in Emma Costello's home in Yarrabah. Source: NITV The Point
The other family members were fearful of catching the virus.
“Really they stayed in their own little area in their room, they were a bit frightened,” she said.
“Every time Jeremiah came out for toilet they went back in their own room, they were scared as well.”
'No plan survives contact'
Making matters worse, Ms Costello said there was no hot water to the home at that time.
“No one could come to fix it because we were in isolation,” she said.
“We used to get a bucket and boil the jug and take the bucket in the bathroom to throw the water over us just to keep clean.”
Overcrowding in Yarrabah is something that has long concerned the local health service, Gurriny Yealamucka, and as COVID-19 cases began to appear in early January, those concerns were amplified.
The virus has ripped through 300 households, infecting more than 700 people since January.
There’s currently 81 active cases in the community.
Gurriny Yealamucka senior medical officer Dr Jason King said there was a lot of work being done on the ground in the lead up to the Queensland border reopening to prepare for a potential outbreak.
Dr Jason King says he's happy with the way the community has handled the outbreak. Source: NITV News
“As the saying goes no plan survives contact with the enemy,” he said.
“We had to look at our plans and adjust to what was in the end a really rapid rise to almost every household in Yarrabah.”
One of the major preparations undertaken in Yarrabah was boosting vaccination rates.
In August just 20 per cent of residents were vaccinated so Gurriny Yealamucka staff decided to go door to door with the jab.
They managed to raise the vaccination rate to 70 per cent by the time the virus entered Yarrabah in January. It’s now sitting at 83.7 per cent.
'Doing their best'
Dr King said he’s pleased with the way the community has responded to the vaccine rollout in the community, and how they’ve managed the outbreak.
“Families are doing their best isolating, which is hugely challenging for houses with 3 bedrooms with 10 people living in them,” he said.
“But to the credit of the community they’ve really come along with that message and are doing a fantastic job of looking out for each other and coming to us when they need help.”
The challenge of self-isolating when living in overcrowded conditions is also front of mind for health authorities in the Northern Territory.
The community of Yarrabah in far north Queensland has recorded more than 700 cases of COVID since January. Source: NITV The Point
AMSANT CEO John Paterson is recovering from COVID-19 himself, and he said he feels lucky to have been triple vaccinated and able to isolate comfortably at home.
“I’ve struggled, the virus's impact on me, iit hit me like a big truck so to speak,” he said.
“I was lethargic, tired, runny nose, headaches, body aches you name it, which laid me up in bed most of the day.
“I had a restless night sleep, and for those in overcrowded housing, you can’t get a good night’s sleep.
“I worry and share their concern.”
'We need to know'
Mr Paterson said he’s also concerned that we may not be getting the full picture of the virus’s impact on Aboriginal communities.
“We’re definitely concerned about the pushback from government on the release of data on a daily regular basis,” he said.
“We need to know where the outbreaks are happening, we need to know the numbers, whether they’re increasing or declining in communities, we need to know what the death rates are, we need to know specifically the hospitalisation rates, those in the ICU.
“It’s unacceptable for governments to hold that information from us.”
Ultimately Mr Paterson said he thinks the devastating impact on First Nations people could have been prevented if community voices were listened to.
“I understand that 90% of the hospitalisations, the death rates of Aboriginal people, which is alarming and very concerning to our sector,” he said.
“We believe this could have been avoided if there were a strong public health response rather than a political response.”
