Victorians shunned as Queensland tightens border
Queensland will turn Victorians away at the border rather than give them the option to go into quarantine at their own expense, as the southern state is increasingly shut off from the rest of the nation due to rising coronavirus numbers.
Photo: AAP/Dave Hunt
“If they’re a person who has been in Victoria in the last 14 days they will be turned around,” Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said on Thursday.
Queenslanders returning home and visitors from across Australia will be forced to get tested for COVID-19 if they become sick within two weeks of their arrival.
The same rule applies for anyone who has been in Victoria in the two weeks prior to coming to Queensland.
More than 1000 people have been refused entry in recent days but a whopping 238,000 people are expected to visit the Sunshine State in the next week.
Anyone wanting to enter Queensland will need to have completed a border declaration and have ID available, either when they arrive at an airport or at a road crossing.
A Sydney man found out how serious Queensland is about border crossings after he was fined $4003 for carrying a fake ID and lying about needing to enter for essential medical treatment.
The 43-year-old was travelling from New South Wales on a bus that was stopped by police at the Griffith Street border checkpoint on Wednesday morning.
Queenslanders coming home from Victoria will be required to go into hotel quarantine at their own expense for 14 days.
Anyone else travelling from Victoria can only enter the state under limited exemptions, and must also go into quarantine.
Freight drivers and individuals who have travelled to Victoria to assist its response to the outbreak are allowed, along with people returning to say goodbye to dying relatives, in circumstances where hospitals and palliative care services can supervise their visits.
The state’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeannette Young, expects there will be cases of COVID-19 in Queensland in coming weeks.
The state’s borders have been closed since mid-March to stop the spread of COVID-19 but will reopen to all other states and territories as part of the stage three easing of restrictions from noon.
-with AAP
Want to comment?
Send us an email, making it clear which story you’re commenting on and including your full name (required for publication) and phone number (only for verification purposes). Please put “Reader views” in the subject.
We’ll publish the best comments in a regular “Reader Views” post. Your comments can be brief, or we can accept up to 350 words, or thereabouts.
