Health & Wellbeing

A majority of Australian travellers are returning home and many businesses, including hotels, accommodation providers and restaurants are closing their doors. But some people are still in urgent need of accommodation, often because they cannot return to their homes Carmen Risby runs Tathra Beachside holiday park on the Sapphire Coast, and is well known in the community for her vitality and compassion....

There's been a tenfold increase of positive Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) in the past three days, with a further nine cases identified since Sunday night. In the Southern NSW Local Health District, covering the South East, Monaro, Tablelands and Coastal regions, there are now 12 confirmed cases after almost 1000 tests have been administered....

South Coast communities have been forced to issue a plea for visitors to stay away as coronavirus begins to make an impact on the battered region and health services gear up to deal with a rising curve of infections. "2020 certainly has tested us and it appears the tests continue", Eurobodalla mayor Liz Innes said this week, following the announcement...

It's the question on everyone's lips: when will schools close in response to the virus which puts our elderly population and those with low immunity at risk? Today, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is urging parents to keep their children at home if possible but no official shutdown has been announced. Last week, Mumbulla School for Rudolf Steiner Education, a small...

Regional coronavirus cases are beginning to proliferate across the Capital region and southern NSW as cases are confirmed in the Eurobodalla, Goulburn, Queanbeyan Palerang and Murrumbidgee districts. Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) has confirmed six cases of COVID-19 have been formally identified. These include: A Canberra man in his 60s who was recently overseas and on his return showed signs...

One thing I know about humans is that we don't love change when it comes via an external tide. If we favoured flexibility, we'd have already looked at each other and said: "you know, there are billions of people in this world, pandemics are inevitable, so let's integrate safe handwashing into our cultural practice." If we welcomed change, we'd stop...

There’s been an unfortunate side effect to the shortage of toilet paper in the Hilltops region. As supermarket staff stave off busloads of city shoppers who ride into our towns hell bent on raiding shelves for the necessities that residents are already lining up at dawn to buy, it seems shire-wide sewerage systems are now buckling under the pressure. Hilltops...

The older we get, the more important it is to maintain fitness, not just for heart health and mobility, but to make us less susceptible to falls. The paradox being that as exercise becomes more important, the harder it can be. That's where aqua fitness comes in. Aqua fitness is a growing industry as more people realise the benefits of low-impact...

Those of us with children and young people in our care are having to navigate a whole range of concerns due to COVID-19. Key among these is the issue of schools and whether or not they will be closed. And if not now, when? After all, we are being told as a community to reduce our time with others, practise...

"With great sadness and regret," the email from Four Winds Easter Festival begins, "we have decided not to go ahead with the 2020 Easter Festival in Bermagui." The Four Winds Easter Festival joins the growing ranks of cancelled community events around the country because of COVID-19, which was categorised as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11 March....

Emma Kemp knows she is one of the lucky ones. Not only did she beat ovarian cancer, but she did not lose her fertility in the process. The 33-year-old University of Canberra Hospital nurse is now paying it forward, getting the message out about a disease that is often detected late and only has a 46 per cent five-year survival...

Although the South Coast is green again, a way forward is still unclear for many victims of fire, as the organisations on the frontline are seeing. John Oddie is new to his position with Convoy Missions Australia but says it all feels strangely familiar. "I had no idea who Convoy Missions were until just before Christmas but the work I've been doing...

Following 441 negative tests in the ACT for coronavirus, Canberra has confirmed its first case of the virus today (12 March). "I regret to inform Canberrans that we have our first case of COVID-19 in the Territory," ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said. ACT's Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said a man aged in his 30s tested positive for...