Townsville locked down as Supercars round looms
Townsville #Townsville
There is fresh doubt over the Townsville Supercars event as the north Queensland city heads into a snap lockdown.
Townsville has been caught up in the spattering of COVID-19 outbreaks around Australia courtesy of an infected hospital worker from Brisbane that travelled north to visit popular holiday spot Magnetic Island.
That marks a third cluster in Queensland, which has forced Queensland premier Anastasia Palaszczuk to take action.
She’s announced a snap three-day lockdown from 6pm tonight that will cover most of south east Queensland, including the Greater Brisbane area and the Gold Coast, and Townsville.
The lockdown could place significant pressure on the Townsville 500, scheduled for July 9-11, on a number of fronts.
Not only does it directly affect Townsville and ticket holders for the event, but also the four Queensland-based Supercars teams that will also be locked down as of this evening.
Triple Eight is based in Brisbane while Dick Johnson Racing, Matt Stone Racing and Team Sydney are all on the Gold Coast.
There could be a knock-on effect for the Melbourne-based teams too, should the Victorian government extend its border restrictions on Queensland.
As it stands the Greater Brisbane area is an orange zone for Victoria, which requires arrivals to be tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
However should the situation worsen those controls could be strengthened, making it difficult for Melbourne teams to return home if they enter Queensland.
Of course, should the snap lockdown kerb the Queensland outbreaks then the Townsville event will be able to go ahead as planned.
Teams are due to arrive in Townsville by the middle of next week.
More to follow.