Cairns and Yarrabah put in three-day lockdown after Covid case infectious in community for 10 days
Cairns has been plunged into a three-day snap lockdown after a taxi driver infected with Covid was infectious in the community for 10 days. Here’s everything we know.
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A taxi driver infected with Covid and infectious in the community for 10 days has plunged the city of Cairns and the Indigenous community in Yarrabah into a snap three-day lockdown.
The lockdown will start at 4pm Sunday after the man tested positive on Saturday afternoon after coming forward and getting tested on Friday.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young revealed a number of people in his household were currently unwell and quarantining while awaiting test results.
She said that this, combined with the fact that the man was infected for ten days, meant that the risk of Delta spreading in Cairns was “reasonably high”.
It was revealed that Queensland Health would be arranging additional help for those in the regional Yarrabah community due to regular commuters who travel between the area and Cairns for work.
Restrictions during the lockdown are similar to what were in place across South East Queensland during its eight-day lockdown, including people only being allowed to leave home for four reasons:
- Essential shopping with 10km of home
- Essential work and school for children of essential workers
- Exercise within 10km of home
- Healthcare, including vaccination, or to provide care
While people can have up to two visitors in their homes, Dr Young preferred if they had no guests while they worked on investigating the case.
She hoped to get the genome sequencing for the case later in the day.
Dr Young asked people in Cairns to please come out and get tested.
“Don’t second guess yourself, any symptoms at all, please come forward and get tested.”
“We all know that once the virus has got out, you can’t put it back.”
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath asked those who had been out in the Cairns and Yarrabah area to check the Queensland Health website for exposure sites.
Originally published as Cairns and Yarrabah put in three-day lockdown after Covid case infectious in community for 10 days
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