WHY FIRST COVID SURGE IS TALK OF THE TOWN

IT’S not just what you see and hear, but sometimes what you overhear, that helps tell the story. Walk around Cairns and you’re likely to hear chat about the spread of Covid, the difficulties in getting a PCR test or the quest to snap up one of those precious rapid antigen test (RAT) kits.

The obvious explanation for why this is affecting so many lives is the explosion of cases in Queensland.

The chances are that either you, a family member, a friend or work colleague has had a brush with Covid.

But here in the Far North, there is another twist.

For us, this is our first real taste of a rampant Covid outbreak.

Sure, we have had lockdowns, the odd case, a bit of a scare. But you were more likely to have met a lottery winner in the region than someone with a positive test result.

The rest of the world has been through the first outbreak and then the Delta wave, Sydney and Melbourne have been ravaged by case numbers that – at the time – appeared to be out of control.

Our region has only just got its chance to experience this, as part of the unstoppable reach of Omicron. Daily case numbers for Cairns are in the hundreds but set to grow.

While Covid and its impact on Australia has been a big story for us all, this is the first time the lucky Far North has really felt these effects.

People with symptoms are rightly lining up for PCR tests, as per the current guidance, but the numbers are overwhelming. Those with worries based on close contact, or people who just need non-Covid status to be safe, are anxiously shopping for rapid tests.

And unlike the long lines for testing that formed during our three-day lockdown in August, this is different. A significant proportion of tests are proving positive, indicating the threat is very real.