There have been long line-ups at COVID-19 testing sites this morning, following the detection of a positive case of the Delta variant in Cairns yesterday.
At the Smithfield Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, the line stretched more than 50-metres from the door.
A mixture of adults and children were lined up, all socially distancing and wearing masks.
The testing site is close to the Bluewater Village Early Learning Centre at Trinity Beach, which was shut down yesterday, after it was revealed a close contact of one of the children was the positive case.
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The man is understood to be a marine pilot who returned from Brisbane last Thursday.
Several exposure sites have been listed, with the child care centre, Hidden at Yorkeys, Bayleaf Balinese Restaurant in Cairns, 1300 SMILES dental practice at Cairns Central and Fitzroy Island Adventures Ferry considered close contact sites.
Queensland Health said testing hours at the region’s clinics are being extended.
The Cairns fever testing clinic on the Esplanade is open from 6.30am to 10pm today and tomorrow, while the Aumuller Street drive through clinic at Portsmith is open from 6.45am to 10pm today and tomorrow.
A pop-up, walk-in testing clinic opens today opposite Cairns Hospital, as well as a testing clinic at Bluewater Village Early Learning centre for families of attending children.
There are plans to open the Cairns fever clinic 24/7.
Click here to find your nearest testing clinic.
Queensland Health said despite the advice on the website, referrals are not required for testing at all Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology and QML Pathology sites.
However, not all clinics are accepting walk-ins so the advice is to call ahead.
Meantime, a local pharmacist says she’s received a spike in bookings for AstraZeneca vaccinations, following the announcement of the positive case.
Georgina Twomey jointly operates Alive Pharmacies, which has seven pharmacies in Cairns stretching from Edmonton to Smithfield.
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“We’re still waiting for our stock to arrive, so we have opened our bookings for next week and they’re filling up quickly.
“There’ll be more bookings opened up in light of this new case, but we are beholden to the Government and the logistics of getting the stock.
“We have reallocated some of the stock from our Innisfail pharmacy to Cairns, according to where the demand is.
“We can do that because we have that footprint.”
A list of pharmacies administering vaccinations to anyone over the age of 18 can be found here.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt this week said the Government is also considering pharmacies as options for COVID surveillance testing using rapid antigen testing technology.
* Tropic Now aims to continually update this story, along with all COVID-19-related coverage, with the latest information. Therefore this story may have been edited since its publication date and time.
