Wilcannia celebrates two weeks covid free

Wilcannia locals are celebrating the news there have been no new Covid cases for two weeks, but say they are now on the long path to recovery after the virus hit “like a cyclone” in August. 

As NSW lifts restrictions, one Aboriginal health expert warned that “we are still in the thick of it”, with new cases appearing in other Aboriginal communities every day.

“Given that we’re only four days out of lockdown, we might see an increase in Covid cases over the next couple of weeks,” Malouf, adjunct professor at the University of Sydney and Wakka Wakka–Wulli Wulli man, said.

In Wilcannia, thanks to the community’s own strong calls for help – which some say came far too late – the small town on the Baarka (Darling River) in far west NSW has gone from 153 cases to zero in 57 days.

Adams said governments are now “fully aware of what Covid can do to communities that have overcrowding”.

Wilcannia, with a population of about 720, recorded its first case on 18 August, when less than 20% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population over the age of 16 had received their first dose of a vaccine, and only 8% had been fully vaccinated, despite being identified as a priority group since the early days of the pandemic.

By 26 August, it had a higher Covid transmission rate than the worst hotspots in Sydney, sparking demands for a coordinated state and federal response. 

Now that cases are at zero, 10 of those motorhomes have been transported to nearby Wentworth to help people self-isolate. A Covid community response team will remain in town for the foreseeable future, while local mental health teams are in the process of resuming their pre-Covid services, the spokesperson said.