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An Easter Message From Bishop Robert McGuckin

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An Easter Message From Bishop Robert McGuckin

Most Reverend Robert McGuckin DD MCL JCL is Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba  which covers the Darling Downs and South West regions of Queensland.

Bishop Robert shares a message of hope and faith with the people of the Toowoomba Diocese during this extraordinary Easter season.

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With all church services suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the main Easter services are being streamed from St Patrick’s Cathedral in Toowoomba.

The timing’s for the main masses are:

7pm Thursday 10th April – Mass of the Lord’s Supper;
3pm Good Friday 11th April – Passion of our Lord; and
7pm Saturday Evening 12th April – The Easter Vigil.

COVID-19 Testing Clinic Hours Change

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COVID-19 Testing Clinic Hours Change

Darling Downs Health’s drive-through novel coronavirus (COVID-19) testing clinic, set up at the Baillie Henderson Hospital campus, has updated its opening hours during weekends and public holidays.

The clinic will continue to open from 10am to 6pm on weekdays, however on public holidays and weekends the clinic will now open from 10am to 4pm. Located on the corner of Burnview and Nicoll Avenues, the clinic is accessible by the Mort Street roundabout entrance to the Baillie Henderson Hospital campus.

A person is eligible for testing if they have a fever (or history of fever) or acute respiratory symptoms, and in the last 14 days:
• They were a close contact or a household contact of a confirmed case
• They had been overseas, including on a cruise.
Testing is also possible for people who have a fever (or history of fever) or acute respiratory symptoms,
AND:
• Work in vulnerable settings such as healthcare, aged or residential care, military, correction facilities, detention centres and boarding schools.
• Live in an area where an outbreak has occurred
• Live in a First Nations community.

Darling Downs Health medical and nursing staff will be on hand to do a check for the virus, which includes taking your temperature, checking oxygen saturation level, pulse and respiratory rates, all of which can be done while you remain in your car.

In the event you are feeling unwell before attending the clinic and you fit the criteria described above, it is highly recommended that you have someone else drive you, in case the check indicates that further assessment is needed.

Be sure to bring a mobile phone as you will be required to speak with our staff before you enter the drive-through clinic, and if you have a mask please put it on before you drive through.

The best way to avoid the virus is to practice good hand hygiene, good cough etiquette and to remain vigilant about avoiding contact with people who may have been exposed to the virus.

For more information on testing visit www.queenslandhealth.com.au/coronavirus

TRC Election Result Firming As Count Continues

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TRC Election Result Firming As Count Continues


With the Electoral Commissiuon of Queensland having reached 73.20% of counting of votes in the Toowomba Regional Council poll the outcome is becoming evident.

With 10 Councillors required, the Top Ten candidates and their vote  tally is as follows:

Rebecca Vonhoff 51, 167
Geoff McDonald* 48,797
Megan O’Hara Sullivan* 46, 998
Carol Taylor* 46,522
James O’Shea* 45,293
Bill Cahill* 44,662
Kerry Shine 44, 352
Nancy Sommerfield* 43, 790
Melissa Taylor 39,062
Tim McMahon 31,716

*Returning Councillor

With less than 30% remaining to be counted,  and a gap of almost 7,000 votes to the nearest competing candidate, it is most likely when declared, the incoming council will be comprised of the 10 candidates above.

Trailing contenders in the 24 thousand votes category are Joy Mingay, Lizzie Adams, David Campbell and Garry Humphries. Informal Votes so far represent 1.21%.
(ECQ as at April 7, 2020 5:29 PM)

Paul Antonio has been returned as Toowoomba Region Mayor with 72.74% of the poll (65,891 votes), Christopher Meibusch (19.22% – 17,408) and Douglas Doelle (8.05% – 7,291 votes). (81.83% counted)

Lifeline Darling Downs Stores Temporarily Closed

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Lifeline Darling Downs Stores Temporarily Closed

Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Queensland have announced their stores have been temporarily shut from Saturday 4th April.

This decision to temporarily close has been made to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and customers due to the impact of COVID-19,” CEO Derek Tuffield OAM said.

“I would also like to stress that our emergency relief and counselling services are still operating and will continue to do so. We have installed a toll-free number to ensure people can contact us which is 1800 951 052.”

Trading across the Lifeline Darling Downs retail network may vary, and customers are advised to check the website for specific store details. Individual store information can be found  at https://bit.ly/3dOSvqT

For more information visit www.lifelinedarlingdowns.org.au

Queensland’s Coronavirus Directive

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Queensland’s Coronavirus Directive

Home Confinement Direction
This direction applies to ALL residents of Queensland.

All people must stay in their homes except for:
1  shopping for essentials – food and necessary supplies;
2  medical or health care needs, including compassionate requirements;
3  exercise with no more than one other person (unless from your household);
4  providing care or assistance to an immediate family member;
5  work and study if you can’t work or learn remotely.

Direction from Chief Health Officer in accordance with emergency powers arising from the declared public health emergency

A person who resides in Queensland must not leave their principal place of residence except for, and only to the extent reasonably necessary to accomplish, the following permitted purposes:

a)  to obtain food or other essential goods or services;
b)  to obtain medical treatment or other health care services;
c)  to engage in physical exercise, either alone or in the company of no more than one other person; or in the company of a family group who ordinarily live in the same Household;
d)  to perform work on behalf of an employer that is engaged in an essential business, activity or undertaking, and the work to be performed is of a nature that cannot reasonably be performed from the person’s principal place of residence;
e)  to visit a terminally ill relative or to attend a funeral, subject to any applicable restrictions under other relevant Public Health Directions;
f) to provide assistance, care or support to an immediate member of the person’s family;
g) to attend any Court of Australia or to comply with or give effect to orders of the Court; or
h)  to attend a childcare facility, school, university, or other educational institution, to the extent care or instruction cannot reasonably be obtained in the person’s principal place of residence.

A person who leaves their residence for a permitted purpose may be accompanied by members of their household or, alternatively, by no more than one person who is not a member of their household.

The Queensland Chief Health Officer may grant an exemption to part or all of these directions on compassionate grounds or for other exceptional circumstances.

This directive was promulgated on 29th March 2020
Dr Jeannette Young,
Chief Health Officer

 

Hospital Restricts Visitors

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Hospital Restricts Visitors

To help manage the spread of coronavirus, Darling Downs Health is restricting visitors to Toowoomba Hospital.
Novel coronavirus is a highly contagious respiratory illness, with symptoms of fever, coughing, sore throat, fatigue and shortness of breath.

Commencing today, until further notice, there will be a limit of one visitor per patient, per day to Toowoomba Hospital. While visitors play an important role in a patient’s recovery, many hospital patients are more vulnerable to disease and complications and need to be protected from exposure to germs.

Technology is an innovative way to stay in touch, and people can stay connected with their loved ones in hospital through phone, text, email, social media or video-chat. Facetime is the new real time, and there are no visiting restrictions on Facetime.

Individual exceptions will be considered. Please contact the Nurse Unit Manager regarding your family’s situation. It is imperative that if anyone in the community is feeling unwell, that they do not visit anyone in the Toowoomba Hospital.

Anyone who is concerned about their health can call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) to speak with a registered nurse, speak with their GP or alternatively take the COVID-19 quiz ….
www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/novel-coronavirus-quiz
[cleveryoutube video=”-kU8Xv2CYJM” vidstyle=”1″ pic=”” afterpic=”” width=”” quality=”inherit” starttime=”” endtime=”” caption=”” showexpander=”off” alignment=”left” newser=”” margin=”true”]For more information about COVID-19 coronavirus, visit www.health.qld.gov.au/coronavirus
Submitted by:
Media Officer
Media, Communication and Engagement
Darling Downs Health

Coronavirus Closes Village

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Coronavirus Closes Village

The management of Highfields Pioneer Village, Museum & Park Inc. has made the decision to close their gates to the public.

Volunteers essential to maintenance will still be onsite daily to maintain the Village and it’s animals and gardens, but will follow coronavirus protocol (staying home if you feel unwell, maintaining a 1.5m distance and washing hands frequently).

Volunteer Manager Ray Ashford OAM says “Our volunteers are working towards the opening of the Big Cow in September, all being well. Please stay well and keep safe, thank you all for your support”.

The decision follows a very important yet reluctant determination to cancel the Easter Vintage Festival.  “The event has been running for over 23 years. It has been sad times for our volunteers but we are using this time to maintain the Village displays and work on our Big Cow” Ray says. Volunteers hope to host a new festival in September if the coast is clear.

President Mervyn Polzin and his brother Keith practice social distancing in front of the historic cookhouse built by their forebears for smoking and preserving wursts and baking bread (Willy Wood photo)

The Volunteers of Highfields Pioneer Village are renowned for their age-old skills and passing down of knowledge to younger generations. Their oldest member is 101 years old and their youngest 9 weeks.

“People during wartime survived using skills such as preserving food when rationing was in effect, people were not permitted to ‘panic buy’ and were issued with ration cards. No foods went to waste and local agricultural production was increased to support our military”. Ray says. “On top of all this it coincided with the Spanish flu, people had to improvise and make do with what they had”.

One of Ray’s favourite displays at the Village is the Farmer’s Ingenuity Collection, “It just goes to show how resilient people were in the olden days…we might not be able to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear but we can learn from our forebears to live from the land”.

To keep up to date with the happenings at the Village please follow their Facebook page.

Submitted by:
Jody Dodds
Treasurer
Highfields Pioneer Village, Museum and Park Inc.
73 Wirraglen Rd, Highfields.
P.O Box 325, Highfields QLD 4352.
07 4696 6309
Dedicated to preserving the history of the Darling Downs for future generations. 

 

Lifeline Darling Downs COVID-19 Community Response

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Lifeline Darling Downs COVID-19 Community Response

Lifeline Darling Downs has issued a statement regarding COVID-19 and how they are responding to the ever-changing environment.

We would like to reassure the various communities we operate in across the Darling Downs and far South West of Queensland that we are still open for business having put measures in place to protect our staff, our volunteers and our clients”, Lifeline Darling Downs CEO, Derek Tuffield OAM said.

Some of the key services we continue to offer are;

ï‚· Lifeline Darling Downs will continue to offer our free, confidential, professional counselling service via the telephone until COVID-19 has passed.
ï‚· Emergency Relief assistance continues from our Head Office at 33 Russell Street, Toowoomba on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.
ï‚· A New Toll-Free local number 1800 951 052 has now been established for members of the local community to contact them in relation to local support.
ï‚· Currently all of our retail stores continue to operate and are receiving their winter stock supplies.
 Our Containers for Change” container recycling facilities at 31 Nicholson Street, Dalby and 187 Perth Street, Toowoomba remain operational.

It is vitally important that we support the community through this difficult time and we will endeavour to provide as many services as we can”, Mr Tuffield said.

If you or someone you care for is in need of support you can contact call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or chat to a crisis supporter via text Lifeline on 0477 13 11 14 (6pm – midnight AEDT) or online at lifeline.org.au (7pm – midnight AEDT).

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