This is a December 2021 update to data presented in an August 2020 presentation and blog post called Liaison in the Time of #COVID19. It is worth doing it now, I reckon, because the borders will open in a couple of weeks, and Queensland will become one of those rare places who have had the luxury of successfully suppressing the pandemic long enough to allow the population to be vaccinated. Well, those who trust and follow the science, that is.
As noted on previous blog posts [here & here], Queensland’s population is much bigger than Australia’s smaller states/territories (which are all well-under 3 million), but falls a long way short of Australia’s two largest states (which are both well-over 6 million).
So, on population alone (ie: with cavalier disregard to geography, housing density, culture or climate) it is better to compare the 5 million-ish Queensland population to the 5 million-ish populations of Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Singapore.
Please interrogate the comparative data collated in the table below.
| Ireland | New Zealand | Queensland | Norway | Singapore | |
| Population | 5 011 500 | 5 126 300 | 5 236 172 | 5 415 166 | 5 450 000 |
| Total COVID-19 Cases | 573 905 | 11 723 | 2 130 | 269 433 | 266 049 |
| Active COVID-19 Cases | * | 6 008 | 16 | * | 12 255 |
| COVID-19 Cases in Hospital | 578 | 61 | 14 | 246 | 993 |
| COVID-19 Cases in ICU | 117 | * | 0 | 69 | 62 |
| COVID-19 Deaths | 5 652 | 22 | 7 | 1 092 | 726 |
| % 1st Dose COVID-19 Vaccine | 91.31 | 94 | 86.5 | 78.7 | 96 |
| % 2nd Dose COVID-19 Vaccine | 89.77 | 87 | 76.4 | 71.1 | 96 |
* = number not reported online [][][][][] vaccine % of eligible people (ie: 12yo +)
I do not take my good fortune of living and working in Queensland for the last two years for granted.
It is important to reinforce the obvious: this data comparison is not some sort of macabre competition. The death stats alone remind us that COVID-19 is not a game – as of 01/12/21 WHO report 262,178,403 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,215,745 deaths. On a brighter note, WHO report that as of 28 November 2021 a total of 7,772,799,316 vaccine doses have been administered.
Think Global. Act Local.
Now, let’s look at how we have been faring in FNQ.
As of 01/12/21 Cairns and Hinterland has had 75 COVID-19 cases (none currently), and no deaths . We have been incredibly fortunate.
As of 01/12/21 over 177 000 vaccine doses have been administered in Cairns and Hinterland [source], but there is a bit of variation between the local government areas – as below [source]:
| % 1st Dose COVID-19 Vaccine | % 2nd Dose COVID-19 Vaccine | |
| Cairns | 87.9 | 76.0 |
| Cassowary Coast (Innisfail) | 85.3 | 71.0 |
| Douglas | 85.5 | 75.3 |
| Mareeba | 75.6 | 63.0 |
| Tablelands (Atherton) | 84.5 | 72.5 |
| Yarrabah | 63.2 | 43.5 |
So What?
I don’t have the qualifications to tell you what all this data means. I certainly don’t have the skills or qualifications to use it to predict future data.
However, I do have the skills to collate and report data from reliable sources.
I intend to revisit this data before I shut down the meta4RN blog in September 2022, and compare how we fare after the borders open compared to the December 2021 baseline data collated above.
Data Sources
FNQ Data
COVID-19 vaccination – Geographic vaccination rates – LGA https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/covid-19-vaccination-geographic-vaccination-rates-lga
Queensland
Population https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/statistics/theme/population/population-estimates/state-territories/qld-population-counter
COVID Cases & Vaccines https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/current-status/urgent-covid-19-update
New Zealand
Population https://www.stats.govt.nz/topics/population
COVID Cases https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-current-cases
COVID Vaccines https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-vaccine-data
Ireland
Population https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-pme/populationandmigrationestimatesapril2021/
COVID Cases https://covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com
COVID Vaccines https://covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com/pages/vaccinations
Norway
Population https://www.ssb.no/en/
COVID Cases https://www.vg.no/spesial/corona/
COVID Vaccines https://www.vg.no/spesial/corona/vaksinering/norge/
Singapore
Population https://www.singstat.gov.sg/modules/infographics/population
COVID Cases https://covidsitrep.moh.gov.sg
COVID Vaccines https://www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19/vaccination
End
As always, feedback is welcome via the comments section below.
Paul McNamara, 2 December 2021
Short URL: meta4RN/baseline
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