Troops will be deployed to the Queensland border in a bid to block New South Wales' rampant COVID-19 outbreak from breaching the state line.
Key points:
- The deployment of 100 troops is designed to protect Queensland from the spread of COVID through NSW
- There will also be a recategorisation of essential workers who are allowed into the state
- Queensland Health said it is working with remote and rural cross-border towns to get people vaccinated
The military deployment, in the form of 100 soldiers based along the border, was requested by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Last night, a spokesperson for the Premier said she was delighted with the federal government's agreement to the deployment, but the timing of the soldiers' arrival was still to be finalised.
The military call-up is the latest in series of measures brought in to try and stem the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 that has overtaken NSW.
Cases from the fast-moving outbreak have emerged throughout NSW and in the past two weeks started to appear in local government areas within a few hundred kilometres of the Queensland border.
In response, Ms Palaszczuk has been steadily escalating border protection measures.
Tightening of classification of essential workers
Yesterday, she announced a review of the classification of essential workers who had been given permission to cross the border.
The move is designed to slash the numbers of people crossing the border.
Essential workers have been defined as someone who is required to provide "time-critical services in Queensland that are needed in Queensland and cannot be obtained in Queensland" according to Queensland Health.
Queensland's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young and top public servants will go through and examine all classifications as part of the reassessment.
Dr Young said she had contacted the Premier's Department to work with the directors-general of other departments on the assessment.
"So, they [the public servants] go through all the people who may need to cross and work out if they are absolutely essential,'' she said.
"They understand them. So for agriculture, for telecommunication, for all of those areas; my own director general Dr [John] Wakefield is going through it for health.
AAP: Dave Hunt
)Dr Young said she would like to see the numbers going over the border to "down to zero".
"We are now going through just to make sure that every single person coming across that border is genuinely necessary to the functioning of Queensland."
But she prefaced her statement by saying she was aware it was necessary for some essential workers to enter Queensland as there was no one in the state that had their skill sets.
Earlier this week, the Queensland government ordered that by Friday all essential workers crossing the border would be required to have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.
'Real and present' threat
ABC News: Dominic Cansdale
)In announcing the latest border measures yesterday, Ms Palaszczuk described NSW's situation as presenting a "real and present" threat to Queensland.
"What we have seen today is a massive escalation of cases in NSW and we do wish people of NSW all the very best,'' she said.
"This Delta variant is of concern. We are concerned and I'm quite sure the rest of Australia is concerned.
"So that means we have strengthened our border and we have got extra police down there."
Case numbers have exploded in NSW with the state recording a record 633 new infections yesterday, along with three deaths.
On Wednesday, the ABC revealed Queensland Health had started holding clinics in border towns, offering vaccinations to New South Wales residents just over the state line.
A spokesperson for Queensland Health said they were currently working with several rural and remote cross border towns such as Mungindi and Goondiwindi "to get as much of the community vaccinated as possible in coming days".
"We are also offering vaccinations to essential workers who work in Queensland. In some cases, that may mean we are vaccinating NSW residents, however, this works to protect Queensland residents,'' said the spokesperson.
Loading form...
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA4LTE5L2NvdmlkLTE5LXFsZC1uc3ctYm9yZGVyLXRyb29wcy1lc3NlbnRpYWwtd29ya2Vycy8xMDAzODg1NDjSAShodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTAwMzg4NTQ4?oc=5
2021-08-18 19:53:41Z
52781813058359
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Troops to be deployed to Queensland border to counter 'real and present' threat of NSW COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak - ABC News"
Post a Comment