Revealed: How Delta-infected Cairns pilot caught Covid
A fully-vaccinated Cairns pilot has been confirmed to have the highly-contagious Delta variant with authorities revealing how they believe he caught it.
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A fully-vaccinated Cairns pilot has been confirmed to have the highly-contagious Delta strain as authorities reveal how they believe he caught it.
The infected pilot, who had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine earlier this year, was working by guiding ships through Far North Queensland waters.
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said he had ‘most likely’ acquired the Delta strain from a ship he was working on, bringing relief for initial fears the southeast Queensland cluster had spread to the far north.
“It is not the Delta strain that is circulating in Brisbane,” she said.
“It is highly likely he’s acquired it during his work as a pilot on one of those ships.”
Dr Young said she believed the risk in Cairns was low but it’s not “zero”.
It comes as Queensland recorded 19 new Covid cases today - 16 locally-acquired and linked to the southeast Queensland cluster which has now hit 63.
The man’s CT values indicate ‘very little’ of the virus - but enough to do genomic sequencing which means there is enough to transmit the virus.
Dr Young said the man’s partner and child had so far tested negative.
The man had visited a childcare centre which forced its closure for a deep clean.
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