With the Queensland border now closed to some 14 million Australians, authorities have warned this weekend is no time to ease off on social distancing and undo the hard work that has prevented another major COVID-19 outbreak.
Key points:
- Medical authorities agree this weekend is critical if Queensland is to prevent a fresh outbreak
- Police now hope a refugee protest will be called off today
- The Queensland border is now closed to everyone from NSW and the ACT
There is a growing sense Queensland might have avoided a disaster after serious concerns about two women who acquired coronavirus in Melbourne and spread it to three others last week.
So far, only five cases of coronavirus have been connected to the Logan women, but Queenslanders are being told now is not the time to relax.
There are a total of 11 active cases statewide.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said there was still a risk of community transmission this weekend, even with the border shutting to Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT from 1:00am (AEST).
"We can start to think we might be able to relax at the start of next week if we have another two days of no new community acquired cases," she said.
"It's too soon to relax, it's far too soon — we've still got to be really, really careful and diligent as we continue to go forward.
"So please, we can't yet relax this weekend. It is really important if anyone is unwell, or develops any symptoms, to isolate and get tested.
"This weekend is critical, it will be a tough decision to make on Monday [easing restrictions] if we have seen large breaches of my directions — then I will have to take that into consideration about the advice I give the community."
University of Queensland virologist Ian Mackay said he was surprised the latest outbreak had sparked so few new cases.
"I do not think it is luck, I think it is the really hard work of our expert crack troops who work in public health in Queensland," Dr Mackay said.
"It shows that what it really takes is cutting down movements, isolating people from people — so infected people from non-infected people — and really just looking to test and find all those cases.
"When you do that you can see the virus doesn't just spread randomly, it does need prolonged contact and close contact, so it holds true today as it did back in January."
Dr Mackay agreed Queensland was at a critical containment juncture this weekend.
"It is a critical weekend because it is possible people may have been incubating illnesses during the week and thought, 'oh I will hold off to get tested until the weekend'," he said.
"We need to put as much time behind us as we can to be absolutely sure that there are not little clusters out there that have been percolating or incubating and about to flare up."
In the toughest border crackdown Queensland has seen since the pandemic began, nearly 14 million Australians from Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT have been banned from entry.
Queenslanders who missed the 1:00am deadline to get home now have to fly in and quarantine at their own expense.
Restrictions can trigger 'distress' and 'anxiety'
Counselling psychologist Christine Bagley-Jones said the ever-changing border rules and tough on and off again restrictions are causing high levels of anxiety in people.
"I feel like it is having a huge impact on people that are usually very calm by nature simply because of the continual flux," she said.
"I think at the very mildest form it would definitely be a sense of being unsettled and unsure about what tomorrow might bring and in a more severe sense, distress presentation like severe anxiety. Especially for people who have a history of anxiety.
"They are scared and they are also not use to having to operate in his very compliant way so it is hard for the mind to suddenly feel comfortable with getting up each day and conducting yourself normally, because there is no normal anymore.
"That can lead to a sense of being overwhelmed.
"People who have concerns about their health can be really triggered by hearing about how close to the bone we are in terms of kicking off more cases in Queensland.
"And we have to remember we are all vulnerable to this pandemic and just because we are sitting sweet at the moment, it does not mean it is going to be like that in the future if we let our guard down.
"I guess the message, as much as it is quite frightening to listen to, it is to make sure people are paying attention."
She was not surprised about people falsifying border declarations or trying to "sneak" over the border with such onerous restrictions now imposed.
She said because we live in a democratic society, we are not used to being told what to do, and being fined or facing jail time for doing the wrong thing.
"Unfortunately the rebel in a lot of us makes it hard for us to just feel happy and content for us to oblige by what the new rules are," she said.
"There seems to be some sort of innate element in a lot of us, that just wants to push back.
"We then have to have that override button in our mind that says no, this is for the greater good, this is for my benefit.
"There is logic in the restrictions."
Protest called off amid border delays
Thousands of protesters were threatening to defy a government order and hold an illegal pro-refugee rally in Brisbane today, but with the threats of mass arrests, it was called off this morning.
Dr Young has indicated that after this weekend, she might consider lifting the restrictions banning families from visiting elderly relatives in aged care homes across South-East Queensland.
With the border shutdown now in force there had been long delays at checkpoints from Goondiwindi to the Gold Coast.
However, the wait to enter Queensland at Coolangatta was relatively short this morning.
Police said in the 24 hours to Friday morning, 73 flights came into Queensland, with 3,393 passengers processed.
Of those, 42 people were sent to quarantine and 12 were refused entry.
At road checkpoints, 6,223 cars were checked, 68 were refused entry and 54 drivers and passengers were put into quarantine at their own expense.
Those who cannot afford the cost — $2,800 for one adult, $3,710 for two adults, and $4,620 for two adults and two children — can apply for a payment plan.
The latest border shutdown will be reviewed at the end of August.
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2020-08-07 23:26:00Z
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