A Kimberley health boss has expressed frustration over a lack of suitable accommodation options for positive cases as COVID-19 spreads in areas where overcrowding is rife.
Cases have started emerging in Halls Creek, a town of key concern given about 80 per cent of the largely Indigenous population live in overcrowded households amid a chronic shortage of social and affordable housing.
Yura Yungi Medical Service CEO Brenda Garstone said just a handful of cases in recent days had already exposed a lack of WA government planning tailored to the town's social and cultural challenges.
She said so far it had been almost impossible to find an appropriate place in the town for someone who tests positive.
"People have been told they need to organise their own accommodation to isolate in, and if there is overcrowding then there's no other option other than to be flown to Kununurra or Broome, which people will not choose to do," she said.
The town's motel and hotel have also declined to put up people isolating with the virus, compounding the issue.
Ms Garstone said the state government had adequate time to set up suitable donga-style temporary accommodation in Halls Creek for people to isolate in.
"They've had two whole years. We all knew that COVID wasn't going to go away," she said.
"We all knew how vulnerable our Indigenous people are. We all knew the problems of a shortage of housing in Halls Creek.
A Department of Communities spokesperson highlighted the alternative accommodation in Kununurra, Broome, and Derby.
"If accommodation is not available within a local area, alternative accommodation is sought in nearby areas," a spokesperson said.
A Department of Health spokesperson said it worked with the Department of Communities to ensure cultural and social determinants of health are considered as part of its COVID response.
Concern about cases jumping between communities
Ms Garstone said a rapidly growing outbreak in the desert community of Billiluna was the source of COVID cases in Halls Creek, about 150 kilometres to the north.
"I'd like to pose the question 'what are they doing to minimise the cross infection between the communities?'" she said.
While many Indigenous communities in the Kimberley have been officially closed since the pandemic started, in reality friends and family members freely travel between isolated settlements.
As case numbers grow the ABC understands community leaders are weighing up whether to impose more stringent measures with support from police.
Residents in nearby Balgo are watching the situation closely and CEO Warren Bretag said leaders were urging residents to minimise travel between neighbouring communities.
He expects COVID-19 to arrive in Balgo within days, a community which also has entrenched overcrowding and social issues.
"If there's a slow and steady progression through the community then we'll be in a better position to cope."
