TROPIC NOW EXCLUSIVE

A second person has tested positive for COVID-19 in Cairns as Cape York goes into lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus to vulnerable Indigenous communities.

Tropic Now understands the case is a local man who recently returned from overseas. He was feeling unwell upon arrival and was tested at Cairns Hospital.

It's the second confirmed case in Cairns in the past few days, and the city has recorded a much slower uptake in cases compared to capital cities.

Queensland Health does not publish details of how many more people are awaiting test results in Cairns, despite requests for that information from Tropic Now.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Australia is rising rapidly, prompting state governments to close their borders and shut down non-essential services.

As of 2pm today, there were 1234 confirmed cases - a tally that has nearly doubled from the 636 confirmed cases across the country on Thursday when Cairns recorded its first COVID-19 case.

There were 221 cases in Queensland this morning, but that figure will rise when today's tally is announced.

On March 5, there were just 60 cases in Australia and 13 in Queensland.

MORE TO COME...