‘Blooming idiots’: Covid-infected couple risk big weekend of entertainment for Sunshine Coast

Residents have spent hours in testing lines while business owners have felt the financial impact of their potential exposure to a Covid-positive couple.

Sunshine Coast residents have spent hours in testing lines while business owners have felt the impact of their exposure to a Covid-19 positive Melbourne couple who skipped lockdown.

"Blooming idiots," is how James Moore described the couple as he waited two hours in a line of cars snaked hundreds of metres down the road from Caloundra Hospital's testing site.

The Caloundra man was among hundreds of residents who spent hours in their car on Thursday, busting to use a toilet and trying to entertain children while waiting for a test.

A few cars behind, Leta-Jaye Weder and her husband James said they were annoyed that they had to pull their children from school and take time off work as a direct result of the couple's actions.

"It's a loss of income, being self-employed with our own business," Mrs Weder said.

Leta-Jaye and James Weder. Photo: Steve Pohlner

 

The Weders said their time in the car was spent answering their children's questions about what the test would be like.

"We're trying not to pass our anxiety onto them," she said.

Similar wait times were experienced at a walk-in clinic at Sullivan Nicolaides Caloundra while the queues were significantly shorter at Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

 

 

Caloundra's Kathleen Kraut and her two children were saddened to learn they had visited exposure site Stockland Caloundra.

"We missed out on a very special 100th birthday today and a lot of activities may be cancelled over the next few days," Ms Kraut said.

Kathleen Kraut from Caloundra, after queuing for Covid-19 test at Sullivan Nicolaides Caloundra. Photo: Steve Pohlner

 

The two Covid-19 positive cases came at a critical time just two weeks out from school holidays and as the Coast welcomes several events including the Noosa eat and Drink Festival, Downunder Beachfest and the Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show.

Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson said it was irresponsible of people from Victoria to head north during a lockdown.

"The fact that it could undermine a whole lot of events. It would have been a tragedy to see our show cancelled again," he said.

"There's a whole range of sporting events coming up here over the next several weeks that could have been jeopardised and there still may be the risk of that if there are other infections."

 

 

Accommodation providers agreed that case numbers on Friday would be critical in deciphering whether the upcoming bookings would be impacted.

Big 4 Caloundra Manager Robert Robinson said his phone was ringing hot on Thursday with concerned guests questioning how their stays might affected.

He said he wasn't yet concerned about the possibility of cancellations, but they would offer full credit to guests who stayed away if the situation grew worse.

"It was frustrating and, having a chat with some of the guests that we have today, there was affair bit of resentment towards the actions of the couple- that they had left Melbourne and put so many people and businesses at risk," he said.

Just a handful of customers were dining at Coffee Cat On Kings Beach on Thursday morning when owner Pierre Mortenson said they were usually serving lattes by the dozen.

Mr Mortenson was made aware by news coverage that a Covid-positive woman had visited his cafe on Sunday afternoon.

Pierre Mortensen, Owner of Coffee Cat at Kings Beach where two Covid-positive people visited after crossing the border at Goondiwindi and went to the Sunshine Coast. Photo Steve Pohlner

"You just have to think, please, what kind of negative impact you could have on other people's lives by doing those things," he said.

"She thought it was totally fine to be doing what she was doing but as you can see there's a flow-on effect, not just on my business but so many businesses are affected by what she did.

"So conformity is necessary for the rest of society to have their normal way of life.

" … I'm sure she feels like absolute rubbish … I'm sure if she could turn it back she would."

The 44-year-old woman was among six tables dining at Coffee Cat between 3.30pm and 4.30pm on Sunday.

Mr Mortenson said he had not been made aware who the woman dined with.

"She definitely had checked in," he said.

"It was the QR app that traced her back here."

The Kings Beach cafe owner had a message to his customers.

"As far as the spread is concerned, you guys are completely safe," he said.

"And if that person had coronavirus, all the steps that could have been done, have been straight after she left anyway."

Originally published as 'Blooming idiots': Locals reveal Covid-infected couple's impact