Aussies Off To Tokyo Olympics …
A pleasure to have the opportunity to document … for Australian Associated Press (AAP) … the departure of just on half Australia’s Olympic squad as they left the country for the Tokyo Games at Cairns International Airport on Saturday. Sadly I wasn’t on the flight with them …
The QANTAS charter aircraft was chokers with about 280 face masked athletes and officials from the swimming, rowing, hockey, water polo, beach volleyball, table tennis, weightlifting and badminton teams on board. Amongst the masked throng was Australia’s ‘Madam Butterfly’ Gold medalist Susie O’Neill (fourth image below) … currently Deputy Chefs de Missions for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Disturbingly, shortly after the aircraft lifted off from the Cairns runway the news dropped that an official had tested positive for COVID-19 at the Tokyo Olympics athletes’ village. A worrying development for the team.
Below are just over a handful of the pics I made of the athletes departure for the (2020 or 2021 ?) Tokyo Olympic Games … the complete set of 45 images may be found on the AAP site HERE.
Images © AAP/Brian Cassey
Covid Lockdown in Cairns …
… seemed inevitable that it would happen sometime … and will likely happen again … a coronavirus pandemic lockdown in Cairns. Our tropical city has led a charmed life since last years initial lockdown in March and April … and we’ve watched as lockdowns have been instituted regularly around the rest of the country.
It took a mariner who had contracted the virus on an offshore ship before travelling back to Cairns and passing it on to a taxi driver to change all that and spark a (thankfully only) three day total lockdown.
These are just a few of the many images I made for Australian Associated Press (AAP) this week. More of my lockdown pics may be found on the AAP site here. (I also spent time covering the lockdown for News Ltd and you may have seen some of those in the local media.)
From top we have … 9 year old Lexie Barlow is tested by QML staff for covid-19 at a testing centre on the Cairns Esplanade … the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon empty and closed for the lockdown duration … masked indigenous children Isiah Bligh and Jakian Costello play in the rain during the Yarrabah lockdown … with occupancy down to seventeen percent a housekeeper patrols the empty corridors of the Cairns Hilton Hotel … Cairns residents queue for covid-19 testing at a QML test centre on the Esplanade … a girl exercises on the Cairns Esplanade during the lockdown.
Cairns has been fortunate since the pandemic began early in 2020 … and fingers crossed these are the last images of a local lockdown.
Images © Brian Cassey and AAP