Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced the state will reopen its border to NSW coronavirus hotspots including Sydney from Monday, February 1.
Exciting news this morning, with all Australians being able to freely visit Queensland from next week, after the decision to reopen the border to Greater Sydney.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced that Sydneysiders will no longer face mandatory coronavirus quarantine on arrival and road border checkpoints will be dismantled from February 1 after the NSW government stamped out Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak.
Queensland shut the border to 35 local government areas in Sydney, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains amid the COVID-19 outbreak in December, causing chaos for travellers ahead of Christmas.
Ms Palaszczuk says the border closure has been “a really, really long haul, and it has been tough on everybody”.
“So it’s a great time for families to be reunited, but also, too, for people to plan their holidays,” she told Nine’s Today program on Thursday.
READ: Nature’s Calendar: When & Where To See Queensland Thrive
“So if anyone’s down there in NSW or Victoria and you’re thinking about having a holiday come up to Cairns, everyone is here ready and willing to welcome you with open arms and a friendly smile.”
Annastacia Palaszczuk, Queensland Premier
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has welcomed the re-opening of the border.
She declined to criticise Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for hearing the news second hand, saying the important thing was “the right outcome is achieved”.
“I hope that this brings a lot of joy and relief to people and that people are reunited.”
Gladys Berejiklian, NSW Premier
“We have to live with COVID. We don’t know how long the pandemic is going to last, but we need to make sure we’re allowing society and the economy to function strongly as ever,” Ms Berejikilian said.
Ms Palaszczuk indicated there will not be blanket border closures in future, with a national hotspot regime adequately containing outbreaks in Sydney and Brisbane over the last two months.
Changes to quarantine
Ms Palaszczuk said she was still putting together a proposal to shift city hotel quarantine to regional camps with two options being explored.
She said it was her priority to protect the community and the economy from the UK strain of the virus while ensuring people in quarantine were safe and comfortable.
“These (camps) are like four-star, they’re not like two-star, and they’re very well ventilated and there’s lots of room to move and everything, and then you have all your workers on-site as well, there’s less risk,” she said.
“Our quarantine is our last line of defence, and if that UK strain gets out now in our community, I am really really concerned about what that will do to our economy.
“It could decimate our economy, not for weeks, but for months so I think we all need to be on our guard.”
Source: AAP.
READ: Hotel Quarantine: Brisbane Guests Moved & Told They Have To Start Over
