Anxious wait
No new cases but fears an outbreak
THOUSANDS of Townsville residents are waiting for their Covid-19 test results as the city anxiously waits to see if the weekend brings any positive cases.
Townsville was thrust into stage two restrictions on Thursday after a man who had travelled to the city from Brisbane tested positive for Covid-19.
He had attended an aviation event on September 20, which resulted in multiple positive cases in Brisbane and one in Townsville.
While the northern city had no new cases on Friday, a storm could be brewing as more results return.
More than 1700 people were tested at the Townsville Hospital and Health Service’s drivethrough testing clinic on Thursday and Friday at the former 1300Smiles Stadium.
Even more have been tested at the two privately run drivethrough testing clinics at Reid Park and James Cook University.
In total, there were almost 20,000 Covid-19 tests performed across the state on Thursday.
Acting chief medical officer Niall Small said the next few days would be critical.
“This is not the time to second guess a cold or a sore throat,” Dr Small said.
“You need to come in and get tested.”
Three cases were recorded in the southeast on Friday – two locally acquired – and one the beginning of a new cluster.
Premier Annastacia Pal
aszczuk said the additional testing had given Queensland an “added layer of protection”.
However, Ms Palaszczuk said she would not hesitate to put the state into lockdown if the health advice called for it.
“This is serious,” she said.
“We will go hard, we will go fast if necessary.
“The fundamental reason we’re not in lockdown is because we don’t have any seeding or unlinked community transmission.”
A number of Townsville businesses that were identified as Covid-19 exposure sites are still closed as they wait for test results.
C-bar on The Strand, which the Covid-19 positive case visited on Sunday, is still waiting for more staff test results to come back. The venue was deep cleaned on Friday.
The Courtyard in City Lane, where the man visited twice, is also waiting for staff test results.
Both businesses are listed as close contact sites, which means staff who were working at the designated time must quarantine as per Queensland Health directions.