After reopening borders less than a week ago to most of the country, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said closing her state again wasn’t off the cards if coronavirus cases in NSW and Victoria continue to increase.
After shutting off the Sunshine State to the rest of Australia on March 25, all eyes were on when the Queensland government would reopen the borders for tourism.
On July 10, the welcome mat was rolled out to most of the country – except Victorians – who are in the midst of battling a second wave of the virus.
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Earlier this week, Ms Palaszczuk announced she would be strengthening borders even further, by declaring 77 suburbs in Sydney as “hotspots” with residents from the Liverpool and Campbelltown local government areas now barred from freely crossing the border.
Appearing on Channel 9’s Today show on Thursday, the Premier said the measures were necessary given the apparent outbreaks unfolding across parts of Sydney, and that she had “no regrets” over the decision and the delays caused by border control.
“We’re very happy with the checks that are happening at the border,” she told host Karl Stefanovic.
“There are delays. We are trying to make it easier for those border communities. We know how hard it is between the Tweed and southern part of the Gold Coast.
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“We’ve asked people to plan their trips if they’re coming from other parts of NSW but we’re also asking people to do the right thing and if they are sick do not come into Queensland.”
Ms Palaszczuk said that while she was confident there were no outbreaks in her state, she “can’t give any guarantee” that Queensland won’t fall victim to the virus like Victoria and parts of NSW.
“We’re doing everything we possibly can. And we do hope Victoria gets it under control. It is a worrying situation and I know the whole country is behind Victoria during this time,” she said.
“What we can do is put all the measures in place, the testing, the border checks, the
strict checking at the airports when people are coming in.”
The Premier’s comments come as the state government announced they will today move to pass laws to bring in a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment for breaking border restrictions.
Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles said the current maximum penalty of a $4000 was not sufficient.
“This week in parliament we will further strengthen our public health laws – further strengthen the powers available to the state to keep Queenslanders safe,” he said.
In good news for the Sunshine State, 18 Queenslanders who visited the Crossroads Hotel in southwest Sydney have now tested negative to the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the city of Sydney is “effectively in a war zone” after ten cases were linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster yesterday – bringing the total number of known infections to 34.
The state’s chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said several of the cases had developed their COVID-19 symptoms incredibly fast. She said Sydney’s new cases appear to show symptoms after just one day.
“It gives you very little time for the contact tracers, because you’ve got to get your cases diagnosed and then you’ve got to lock down those contacts,” Dr Chant said.
Meanwhile, one of Australia’s top coronavirus experts says Victoria is on a “knife’s edge” with COVID-19, urging the state to bring in a complete shutdown and eliminate the virus once and for all.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMirAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS90cmF2ZWwvdHJhdmVsLXVwZGF0ZXMvaGVhbHRoLXNhZmV0eS9xbGQtYm9yZGVycy1kZWxheXMtdG8tY3Jvc3MtYm9yZGVyLWludG8tcXVlZW5zbGFuZC1tYXktbGFzdC1hbGwteWVhci9uZXdzLXN0b3J5LzBmNTllNmUyZjAwNTg1N2ZkNWM4Y2RkYjU3YzgwZGY40gGsAWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLm5ld3MuY29tLmF1L3RyYXZlbC90cmF2ZWwtdXBkYXRlcy9oZWFsdGgtc2FmZXR5L3FsZC1ib3JkZXJzLWRlbGF5cy10by1jcm9zcy1ib3JkZXItaW50by1xdWVlbnNsYW5kLW1heS1sYXN0LWFsbC15ZWFyL25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvMGY1OWU2ZTJmMDA1ODU3ZmQ1YzhjZGRiNTdjODBkZjg?oc=5
2020-07-16 00:17:03Z
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