New COVID-19 Restrictions for Queensland Returnees

New COVID-19 Restrictions for Queensland Returnees
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young speaks at a press conference as she gives an update on Queensland COVID-19 Border Controls in Brisbane, Australia on June 30, 2020. (Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
AAP
By AAP
1/3/2021
Updated:
1/3/2021

People who have travelled to Victoria will be restricted from visiting facilities like aged care homes, as Queensland records zero new cases of COVID-19.

Anyone who has travelled to Victoria, which has a new coronavirus cluster, in the past two weeks has been banned from visiting Queensland’s aged care facilities and hospitals.

The new restriction came into force from 1 a.m. on Monday and also apply to people wanting to visit other vulnerable facilities like disability accommodation and prisons.

“We’re responding quickly to protect people in these facilities by restricting any visitors who have been in high-risk locations so we can keep them as safe as possible,” Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said on Sunday.

At the same time, visitors from Victoria in Queensland are being advised to get tested for coronavirus and self-isolate until they get their test results.

Queensland recorded zero new coronavirus cases on Sunday, and the state has so far racked up 110 days without a case of community-based infection.

Recent positive cases have been reported in hotel quarantine, including a child who returned from Pakistan on the weekend.

There are 13 active cases in Queensland with seven quarantining on the Gold Coast, five in Brisbane, and one on the Sunshine Coast.

“It’s just important that people keep on testing,” Young said.

She advised people to “keep engaged” while on holiday to stay alert because things could “unfortunately rapidly change.”

The Queensland border is already closed to anyone who has been in the COVID-declared hotspots of Greater Sydney and surrounding areas in the past 14 days. Those restrictions are expected to be reviewed on Jan. 8.

“We don’t need to extend any border restrictions to Melbourne or Victoria but we’re keeping a very close eye on that,” she said.

Queenslanders who’ve been in Victoria on or since Dec. 21 have already been advised to get tested and quarantine at home until they get their results.

Border declaration passes are also needed for travellers who have visited NSW since Dec. 11.

AAP