COUNCIL PASSES MOTION CALLING FOR SUPPORT FOR VULNERABLE
THE EXAMINER - SUPPORT FOR VULNERABLE PEOPLE (JANUARY 28, 2022)
A community-run COVID awareness Facebook page set up to track exposure sites wants to extend its service to the Launceston community by providing support packages to high-risk residents. On Wednesday, Facebook group, Tasmania Community Known COVID Exposure Sites launched a GoFundMe with a target of $10,000 to create and distribute Stay Safe Packs for Tasmanians over 65.
About 24 hours after the fundraiser was launched the GoFundMe had raised just over $2000 of its target. According to the organisers, $10,000 would allow the group to supply packs to over 120 Tasmanians. "In the coming weeks, we would like to expand who can receive a pack to include those medically vulnerable and at a higher risk of severe illness due to COVID-19," it read.
The packs will include COVID essentials such as masks, hand sanitisers, disinfectants and some over the counter medicines. All money raised will go directly to the support packs, with the funds overseen by a registered accountant and records available on request. Launceston City councillor Tim Walker was one of the organisers behind the support packs and said more needed to be done to protect immunocompromised members of the community.
In Thursday's council, meeting Cr Walker successfully raised a motion to petition the state government to extend the community services currently offered. He said there was a "large group of Tasmanians who are particularly vulnerable to the potential symptoms of COVID-19 who are not directly being offered protection and security in order to prevent themselves becoming infected, and potentially dying from that exposure". A successful petition could see support extended to those isolating as a close contact, as well as vulnerable people or carers of vulnerable people isolating from COVID.
The motion recommended among other things that the council write to Premier Peter Gutwein to seek an extension of community services currently offered to those in isolation because of COVID-19. The motion also called on council to ask the state government to investigate the creation of a permanent vulnerable people's register, to enable the timely provision of direct government assistance, or referral to organisations that can assist with individual needs.
"By extending the community care to those who voluntarily choose to access those services, we can be assured that we truly are doing everything we can to avoid unnecessary deaths," Cr Walker said. Cr Rob Soward spoke in favour of the motion. "Vulnerable means a lot of different things," he said. "One of the good things about the pandemic is we can learn from other parts of the world." Cr Andrea Dawkins supported the motion and its intent, and said the state government had let down vulnerable people. Cr Alan Harris supported the motion, but had several questions regarding the implementation.
Cr Walker said the community needed to "plan for the worst", but that Tasmania had a "tight and supportive community," and he said he was pleased the motion was carried unanimously. "I tried to make it as straightforward as possible," he said. "It's kind of beyond politics. Certain things are political with COVID-19, like whether you place the economy above people's welfare, I suppose, is a political decision at the end of the day."