SEQ appears to dodge lockdown in good news for Far North tourism operators

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young believes Queensland has nipped in the bud yet another outbreak of the delta strain of Covid-19 by getting on top of the cluster early.

CHIEF Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young believes Queensland has nipped in the bud yet another outbreak of the delta strain of Covid-19 by getting on top of the cluster early.

In good news for the Far North tourism industry, Dr Young said she was confident off the back of more than 100,000 tests in recent days that there was no community seeding.

The high rate of testing and lack of linked cases is making the prospect of a locked-down South East Queensland tourism market seem less likely than earlier in the week.

“We’re finding pretty much the first case in each outbreak and that means we can get on it really quickly,” Dr Young said.

Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young. Pic Peter Wallis

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced there were zero new cases of community transmission in Queensland and one in hotel quarantine at her Sunday morning press conference.

“Now vaccination is the key, I’ve said that time and time again,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“There’s hubs right across Queensland and they’re accepting walk-ins. There’s really no excuse not to get the vaccine.”

The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service administered 1644 doses on Saturday, with the overwhelming bulk of the jabs delivered at the Cairns Convention Centre vaccination hub.

It brings the total number of doses administered across the CHHHS area to 124,920.

The Torres and Cape has administered a total of 19,825 doses.

Despite Sunday’s good news, Ms Palaszczuk said the threat of the lockdown was still not entirely off the table.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 01: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks during a press conference. (Photo by Dan Peled/Getty Images)

“We’ve said very clearly that if there’s any community spread, we’ll look at those cases but that could happen. The key is to go get vaccinated,” she said.

Townsville, which was also thrust into stage two restrictions on Thursday after a man who had travelled to the city from Brisbane tested positive for Covid-19, has so far avoided any new cases.

The man had attended an aviation event on September 20 which resulted in multiple positive cases in Brisbane and one in Townsville.

Originally published as SEQ appears to dodge lockdown in good news for Far North tourism operators