General News
9 August, 2021
Taxi and Reef Pilot cases linked.
Health authorities have confirmed both recent COVID-19 cases in Cairns are linked.
Cairns and Yarrabah was locked down at 4om Sunday after confirmation that an unvaccinated taxi driver aged in his 60s tested positive for COVID.
The 3-day snap lockdown will last until Wednesday 4pm.
Genome sequencing has confirmed a link between the reef pilot who tested positive last week and this recent positive taxi driver case.
Health authorities are now reviewing all close contacts and exposure sites for both COVID cases, with additional close contact sites added to the contact sites list overnight.
The taxi driver has been transferred to Brisbane for treatment.
Yesterday more than 970 people presented for testing in Queensland Health testing centres in Cairns.
In scene reminiscent of a cyclone alert, panicked shoppers packed local supermarkets, stripping clean shelves and creating wait times for checkouts approaching 1 hour.
Schools in both Cairns and Yarrabah remain closed today, except for essential workers and vulnerable children.
Residents are reminded for the next 3 days the only valid reason to leave home is to collect essential goods (within 10km), exercise, essential work, assisting vulnerable people and obtaining a COVID test or vaccination.
The wearing of masks in public is now mandatory.
