In recent months,hundreds of local businesses closed,with several hanging on with JobKeeper assistance.

Cairns Chamber of Commerce chief executive Patricia O’Neill said the region had already been deprived of tourism from 60 per cent of Australia’s population,with places such as the state’s south-east and Sydney,two of Cairns’ top tourism markets,in lockdown.

“We’ve actually been struggling for quite a number of weeks now with the lack of visitation to the area,” she said.

“We’re all on tenterhooks ensuring this doesn’t get out of hand.

“Testing clinics are bursting at the seams with people obviously wanting to make sure that we can get on top of it in our town.”

Ms O’Neill said while the$5000 support payments announced by the government on Monday would help,it neglected sole traders,who were not eligible.

“It’s not just hospitality and tourism,it’s business in general – retail is really struggling,” she said.

“If[interstate visitors] are not here,they’re affecting all business.”

Candy Cafe Bar owner Chantelle Kenyon said she was concerned about the new case and whether restrictions would be implemented in the region.

“It’s gotten quite quiet this week – from Monday,it was noticeably different,” she said.

“I spoke to a lot of owners and we’re all in the same boat.

“It was quite busy and now it’s just dropped off,which is quite worrying.”