Shortages a blow for business
SURGING INFECTION RATES AND PCR TEST LIMBO FORCES SHUTDOWN OF MANY FAR NORTH SERVICES
COVID ripping through Cairns has the city in the grip of a lockdown-type situation without any mandate announcement as staff in a PCR test limbo force a pause on services and business to shut.
Thousands of workers confined to home isolation while waiting on test results have crippled the hospitality industry.
Now staff shortages have spread to other sectors including Cairns Regional Council already managing a skeleton staff during the New Year period.
And the reef tourism industry has not been left unscathed.
Delays in returning PCR tests led to the last-minute cancellation of a seven-day Coral Geographer voyage on Tuesday.
Dozens of interstate passengers were turned away as the ship was due to depart, however Coral Expeditions commercial director Jeff Gillies said the company had no choice but to pull the pin on the trip to Lizard Island and Osprey Reef.
“We have made the decision to leave eight essential crew members on board and have put that vessel into isolation,” he said.
“We had a seven-night trip cancelled because crew and guests could not get tests back in timely manner.”
Mr Gillies said modelling foreshadowed spiking case numbers but he expected respite following a peak in the current wave of infections.
“It’s not surprising, and we have planned for this,” he said.
“And we have had advice that the changes they have made to PCR testing will alleviate the pressure as more rapid antigen tests become available.
“Having had the wave come through we are much more optimistic about the outlook.”
A passenger from Sydney scheduled to depart on the cruise, who asked not to be named, was devastated at the cancellation.
“It was shocking,” she said. “There was people in the room crying. We couldn’t believe what we were being told.
“We left Cairns the next day because we were so disappointed.”
Travel agent Lyn Every, dealing with a wafer thin profit margin, said the pandemic’s impact had created a “really sad” situation in Cairns.
“We just keep the doors open, just to see what happens,” she said.
“Tourism will never be the same. I’ve been in it a long time, and it’s always been a great industry, but it’s just really sad what’s happening to the industry in Cairns.
“We are just making ends meet.”
Ongoing impacts to the Cairns reef fleet, whose operators have suffered under state government mandates since the pandemic’s onset have pulled services as increasing staff numbers come in contact with the virus.
Quicksilver managing director Tony Baker said staffing was the latest hurdle to overcome in a long list of headaches for marine tour operators.
“This is just another challenge to take in our stride,” he said.
“We have not been operating every trip every day. We have had one trip that we have had to cancel because staff were not available, which is a pretty good result.”
Spirit of Cairns restaurant manager Alecia Freeman said it had been tough juggling rosters as workers became unavailable while waiting for PCR test results and others received the all clear to work.
“It has been difficult, that’s for sure, we are taking it day by day and hoping it gets better” she said.
“We are still operating and that’s good.
“We still have five cruises going this week if staff are still feeling OK.
“We are doing the best we can but it’s really hard.”
It’s understood Entrada Travel Group’s live-a-board fleet has had staff “dropping like flies”.
Cairns Regional Council, affected by a staffing shortfall, closed the Spence St customer service centre on Thursday. It will remain closed on Friday.
Chief executive officer Mica Martin said contingencies are in place to limit disruptions to essential services.
“(And) Babinda Library will be closed on Saturday … due to a staff shortage as a result of Covid-19,” she said. “All businesses and organisations are being adversely impacted by the Omicron variant and will be for some time.”
However, new initiatives available through the council’s website are expected to streamline development inquiries. And the aged care industry has felt the impact of spiking case numbers. It’s understood some care homes have effectively locked down and resident outings cancelled due to staff shortages.
Cairns Taipans’ upcoming matches against the Sydney Kings this weekend and next Tuesday’s Brisbane Bullets game have been postponed as players return positive Covid test results.
“This is the world we are living in right now, and we knew at some point during the season we would be impacted,” Taipans chief executive Mark Beecroft said.
But, for The Pier Shopping Centre retailer Dameon Jamie, staff shortages and uncertainty had presented the greatest challenge for his Wild Sugar clothing boutique since the pandemic began.
“We’re waiting for people to come back from their testing results,” he said.
“In relation to how it’s impacting businesses, there’s so much uncertainty because of a staffing shortage.
“We had looked for quite a long time to hire someone and we’re still looking for people for weekends.”
Mr Jamie suspected the temporary closure of nearby restaurants and bars, including Howlin’ Jays, The Pier Bar, and The Backyard had also impacted trade.