MarieClaire
  • News
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • Career
  • Bridal
  • Podcasts
  • Beyond Beauty
  • Video
MarieClaire
  • News
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • Career
  • Bridal
  • Podcasts
  • Beyond Beauty
  • Video
MAFS' Aleks and Ivan exchange wedding vows
Watch 4:43

MAFS' Aleks and Ivan exchange wedding vows

{headline}

{headline}

The Best Reactions To Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Groundbreaking Oprah Interview

The Best Reactions To Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Groundbreaking Oprah Interview

The Biggest Revelations From Meghan And Harry's Oprah Interview

The Biggest Revelations From Meghan And Harry's Oprah Interview

Celebrities Are Rallying Around And Publicly Defending Meghan Markle Following Bullying Allegations

Celebrities Are Rallying Around And Publicly Defending Meghan Markle Following Bullying Allegations

Meghan Markle's Oprah Interview Outfit Is Sparking Comparisons To Wallis Simpson

Meghan Markle's Oprah Interview Outfit Is Sparking Comparisons To Wallis Simpson

{headline}

{headline}

Meghan Markle Said The Palace Had Concerns About Archie's Skin Colour

Meghan Markle Said The Palace Had Concerns About Archie's Skin Colour

Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Announce They're Having A Baby Girl

Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Announce They're Having A Baby Girl

Best-Selling Book ‘Detransition, Baby’ Is Officially Getting The TV Treatment

Best-Selling Book ‘Detransition, Baby’ Is Officially Getting The TV Treatment

{headline}

{headline}

The Final Book In The 'Fifty Shades' Spinoff Series Officially Has A Release Date

The Final Book In The 'Fifty Shades' Spinoff Series Officially Has A Release Date

Samantha Armytage Announces That She's Leaving 'Sunrise' In Search Of 'Peace And Quiet'

Samantha Armytage Announces That She's Leaving 'Sunrise' In Search Of 'Peace And Quiet'

Turns Out 'MAFS' Belinda Had A 73-Year-Old Boyfriend Before Our Sweet Patrick, And Here’s The Proof

Turns Out 'MAFS' Belinda Had A 73-Year-Old Boyfriend Before Our Sweet Patrick, And Here’s The Proof

Connie Crayden Sets The Record Straight On Her Past With Bryce From 'Married At First Sight'

Connie Crayden Sets The Record Straight On Her Past With Bryce From 'Married At First Sight'

12 Times The Royal Family Seemingly Used Fashion To Convey A Hidden Message

12 Times The Royal Family Seemingly Used Fashion To Convey A Hidden Message

Six Prominent Prominent Australians On What Fuels Them In The Fight For The Future

What Women Want

Rumour Has It, Bella Varelis And The New 'Bachelor' Jimmy Nicholson Were Once An Item

Rumour Has It, Bella Varelis And The New 'Bachelor' Jimmy Nicholson Were Once An Item

  1. Home
  2. News

Coronavirus Could Devastate Indigenous Communities

"I’m scared for our elders. So much could be lost” - by Kathryn Madden
  • 13 Apr 2020
Coronavirus Could Devastate Indigenous Communities

In another week filled with coronavirus clichés, “COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate” has become something of a catchcry. Tom Hanks got it, Prince Charles beat it, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is recovering from it, having just been released from intensive care. 

And yet despite this smattering of headline-grabbing, high-profile cases, history tells us that pandemics do indeed discriminate.

During the Spanish Flu of 1919, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families accounted for 30 per cent of the death toll in Queensland. When swine flu hit in 2009, Indigenous people made up 11 per cent of cases nationally (despite only representing 3 per cent of the population) and their fatality rate was six times higher than that of non-Indigenous citizens.

Now, as coronavirus spreads across the country, fears for First Nations people are at an all-time high. In the words of Pat Turner, CEO of National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO): “I can’t be any blunter. If COVID-19 gets into our communities, we are gone.”

nitv_au View Profile
466 likes - View Post on Instagram
Rapper, writer & actor @senatorbriggs has teamed up with artist @mollyhunt4food to raise awareness of #Covid19 to mob. . Paying homage to well-known protest chants, Briggs says the message is "... meant to be light, because the reality is heavy." . "Blackfullas over 50 are instructed to stay indoors," he said on social media. "They [officials] mean your Nan, Pop, Aunties, Uncles and Parents." . "It's our communities that feel the brunt of a health system that fails us and the current leadership can't be trusted," he wrote. . So remember: #AlwaysWashAlwaysDryThemAboriginalHands

Deep-seated health and socioeconomic inequity are at the heart of this vulnerability. “Many Indigenous people have chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which leads to worse outcomes if they’re diagnosed with COVID-19,” explains Dr Jason Agostino, NACCHO Medical Advisor. “In addition, overcrowding and poor facilities in homes, particularly in remote communities, mean the virus could spread very quickly if there’s not space to isolate and quarantine.”

Meanwhile, a lack of personal protective equipment could be catastrophic. Last week The Guardian reported that one Aboriginal health group in Victoria had stopped all COVID-19 testing and was considering shutting its doors due to the shortage.

“There are PPE shortages all across Australia,” confirms Dr Agostino. “But it can be particularly bad in remote areas. We did an audit in our communities recently, and in one, there were 10 masks to go around for 350 people.”

For human rights advocate Debbie Kilroy, these stats and facts are gut-wrenching. “I’m absolutely terrified for Indigenous communities,” she says. “My husband, children and grandchildren are Aboriginal.

“We’re hearing from elders in isolated communities that the government is not sending them medical services or support – they’re sending them body bags for children. That breaks my heart. I cannot believe that this is happening and no one really knows about it.

“The government is telling elders to stay in the community, knowing they’re more at risk there. The elders will die very quickly when this hits isolated communities because there’s no medical support.”

So how do we help to halt this spread?

tiddas4tiddas View Profile
640 likes - View Post on Instagram
Check out @mili_cairns making the best out of a crazy situation with her hand made, deadly printed face mask! In her words, "Made my first mask today as per the recommendation of the WHO and CDC. They are asking that everyone wears a face covering, wether it be a surgical mask, fabric mask, bandana, T-shirt or scarf. It's made with a heavy, tight weave quilting cotton, a layer of non woven antibacterial fabric and another layer of quilting fabric. There's wire in the nose so it fits to your face, doesn't leave a gap so won't fog your glasses. Elastic straps go around the head not ears but I'm thinking of changing the elastic for ties instead, just makes it easier to get off, don't want to be rubbing a dirty mask on your face and head after wearing it." Our artists and business owners are so adaptable and resilient just as our people and culture always have been! Stay strong and healthy you mob - and don't forget to wash ya hands 🧼🙌🏾🙌🏾 . . . #tiddas4tiddas #aboriginalaustralia #aboriginalwomen #positivevibes #washyourhands #facemask #handmade #aboriginalart #milicairns #thursday

This week the government pledged $123 million to boost the Indigenous response to the pandemic, and also restricted entry to some remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“The travel restrictions have been well received, but we don’t think the funding is enough,” says Dr Agostino. “The total spend on the Australian population as a whole is already up to $130 billion, and Indigenous people make up 3.3 per cent of that. Do the maths.”

Based on these numbers, a $4.3 billion spend on the Indigenous response would be fair.

Dr Agostino also has a brilliant idea to make space for those in need. “As a society we should be ensuring that anyone who can’t isolate at home has options, so they don’t have to go back to overcrowded accommodation and possibly infect their family,” he says. “We have plenty of empty hotels. In Victoria and WA, they’re starting to make those rooms available to healthcare workers. What about Indigenous people who need to self-isolate?”

Keely Silva, Kamilaroi woman and co-founder of Tiddas 4 Tiddas, also urges us to stay away from country towns and regional communities, particularly this long weekend. “If coronavirus was to hit one of the little towns, they wouldn’t be able to cope – if one person gets the virus, they’ll likely all be infected.”

For her, this issue takes a personal turn, given her dad is an Indigenous man in his 50s, putting him squarely in the high-risk demographic.

“He’s a policeman and right now he’s supervising hotels where returning travellers have tested positive to COVID-19, or are quarantining,” she says. “He has a mask, but it’s pretty worrying.

“And beyond my immediate family, I’m scared for our Indigenous elders. They’re the most respected people in the community and they hold all our traditions. If corona gets into our remote communities and our elders get sick or pass away, so much could be lost.”

All things considered, “COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate” is merely a pipe dream.

Here’s another catchcry: “We’re in this together.” Remember that – and the plight of Australia’s most vulnerable – as we continue to ride this wave.

Kathryn Madden
Kathryn Madden
Kathryn Madden is the Deputy Features Director of marie claire magazine, and spends her days writing about feminism, fashion and everything in between. She’s also written for Grazia, InStyle, Qantas and Home Beautiful, and is the editor and founder of Lonely Continent.

Subscribe & receive a gift from Go-To Skincare-

Subscribe to marie claire

Subscribe Now
Subscribe & receive a gift from Go-To Skincare

Subscribe & receive a gift from Go-To Skincare-

Subscribe to marie claire

Subscribe Now
Subscribe & receive a gift from Go-To Skincare

Recommended to you

MAFS' Aleks and Ivan exchange wedding vows
Watch 4:43

MAFS' Aleks and Ivan exchange wedding vows

{headline}

{headline}

The Best Reactions To Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Groundbreaking Oprah Interview

The Best Reactions To Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Groundbreaking Oprah Interview

The Biggest Revelations From Meghan And Harry's Oprah Interview

The Biggest Revelations From Meghan And Harry's Oprah Interview

Celebrities Are Rallying Around And Publicly Defending Meghan Markle Following Bullying Allegations

Celebrities Are Rallying Around And Publicly Defending Meghan Markle Following Bullying Allegations

Meghan Markle's Oprah Interview Outfit Is Sparking Comparisons To Wallis Simpson

Meghan Markle's Oprah Interview Outfit Is Sparking Comparisons To Wallis Simpson

{headline}

{headline}

Meghan Markle Said The Palace Had Concerns About Archie's Skin Colour

Meghan Markle Said The Palace Had Concerns About Archie's Skin Colour

Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Announce They're Having A Baby Girl

Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Announce They're Having A Baby Girl

Best-Selling Book ‘Detransition, Baby’ Is Officially Getting The TV Treatment

Best-Selling Book ‘Detransition, Baby’ Is Officially Getting The TV Treatment

{headline}

{headline}

The Final Book In The 'Fifty Shades' Spinoff Series Officially Has A Release Date

The Final Book In The 'Fifty Shades' Spinoff Series Officially Has A Release Date

Samantha Armytage Announces That She's Leaving 'Sunrise' In Search Of 'Peace And Quiet'

Samantha Armytage Announces That She's Leaving 'Sunrise' In Search Of 'Peace And Quiet'

Turns Out 'MAFS' Belinda Had A 73-Year-Old Boyfriend Before Our Sweet Patrick, And Here’s The Proof

Turns Out 'MAFS' Belinda Had A 73-Year-Old Boyfriend Before Our Sweet Patrick, And Here’s The Proof

Connie Crayden Sets The Record Straight On Her Past With Bryce From 'Married At First Sight'

Connie Crayden Sets The Record Straight On Her Past With Bryce From 'Married At First Sight'

12 Times The Royal Family Seemingly Used Fashion To Convey A Hidden Message

12 Times The Royal Family Seemingly Used Fashion To Convey A Hidden Message

Six Prominent Prominent Australians On What Fuels Them In The Fight For The Future

What Women Want

Rumour Has It, Bella Varelis And The New 'Bachelor' Jimmy Nicholson Were Once An Item

Rumour Has It, Bella Varelis And The New 'Bachelor' Jimmy Nicholson Were Once An Item

MarieClaire
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • Beauty Crew
  • Home Beautiful
  • Who

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • New Idea food
  • New Idea
  • Girlfriend
  • That’s Life
  • Practical Parenting
  • All Recipes
  • Perth Now
  • The West Australian
  • 7Plus
  • Airtasker
  • 7NEWS
  • SocietyOne
  • Health Engine
  • Starts at 60
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Marie Claire

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe & receive a gift from Go-To Skincare-

Shop This Offer
Subscribe & receive a gift from Go-To Skincare