A month has passed since the last confirmed case of COVID-19 in Griffith and one MLHD doctor has only praise for the community's efforts.
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Murrumbidgee Local Health District's acting medical services executive director Len Bruce said he was worried about a potential outbreak but he was pleased to see no new cases.
Dr Bruce said there were no new cases in the MLHD area as of Thursday morning.
"We've done so well, the community has done brilliantly," Dr Bruce said.
"Another way to look at it, the incubation period is 14 days. We've gone through two incubation periods with no new cases."
Dr Bruce said COVID-19 was a "generation defining" disease.
"It will change the world forever," he said.
"The reason we've done so well is we've changed the way we interact with other people."
Dr Bruce said the decisions made to protect people's health meant key moments in people's lives like weddings, birthdays or funerals were disrupted.
"We do appreciate that people not being able to see their families is difficult," he said.
"It's important to keep it in perspective, the decisions we make to keep people safe don't happen in a vacuum, it affects people's lives."
The reason we've done so well is we've changed the way we interact with other people.
- MLHD's acting executive director of medical services Dr Len Bruce
Dr Bruce said the need to maitain some of the measures to ensure the community's continued protection were needed.
"It's what people have done, we keep doing the things we've been doing, the risk of an outbreak is very low," he said.
"You can only get coronavirus from another person. If you keep your distance, the chances of getting it are a lot less."
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Australians had a tendency to 'solider on' if they weren't feeling well and Dr Bruce said this had to change to ensure everyone else's health.
"You should not go to work, even with mild symptoms. You can probably work, but you're infecting all your co-workers," he said.
"The majority of people might not get very sick, but 20 per cent of people will get very sick."
Dr Bruce said that meant elderly people, people with underlying illnesses or other conditions but warned that youth was not immune.
"There are young people that have died from (coronavirus) with no underlying illnesses," he said.
"Do not go out if you are unwell, call the COVID-19 hotline."
Key symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, a cough, a sore/scratchy throat and shortness of breath and other symptoms can include the loss of smell and taste, a runny nose, aches and pains and loss of appetite.
He said testing was an essential part of keeping the virus at bay, and once cases were found it was important to track down people they came into contact with.
"There are coronavirus patients who can infect other people before they become symptomatic," he said.
Dr Bruce said while the state and federal governments had a good plan for relaxing the rules, the impact of those changes would not become clear for two weeks.
Declan Rurenga
Declan Rurenga was the editor of Griffith's Area News and Leeton's Irrigator until September 2023. Before landing at the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, he reported news in Junee, Wagga Wagga, Orange and Cootamundra.
Declan Rurenga was the editor of Griffith's Area News and Leeton's Irrigator until September 2023. Before landing at the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, he reported news in Junee, Wagga Wagga, Orange and Cootamundra.
