Premium Content
Subscriber only
Update: People waited for more than three hours for COVID tests as dozens of cars converged on the drive-through clinic at the Mackay showgrounds on Sunday.
Due to the high demand, following advice from the stateâs chief health officer, Mackay Hospital and Health Service announced Mondayâs hours would be extended from 8am to 4pm.
The clinic was initially going to close at 11am.
More than 50 people have already been tested in Mackay today with cars still lining up at the clinic.
Anyone else thinking of being COVID tested is advised to return on Monday when there will be a wider range of testing options in Mackay and the Whitsundays as private facilities re-open.
They returned to hospital where Mrs Aldave learned she was now eight centimetres dilated. Mr Aldave said they had been told to expect about one centimetre dilation every two hours and thought Ahrabella would be born about midnight or early in the morning . But Mrs Aldave laughed she had been standing by her hospital bed when she was told the baby was on its way. (She) just popped out, Mrs Aldave said. So quick. Ahrabella was born at 2.30pm on Friday, and now new big sister Ahxeia cannot wait to get her home. Ahrabella Aldave arrived at 2.30pm on January 1, 2021 weighing 2980 grams and was the first baby born in Mackay in the new year. She was 49.5cm long and her head circumference was 33.5cm.