Qld, WA shut border to Victoria as NZ halts travel bubble

Another state has closed its border to Victoria where the Covid outbreak has worsened. See where you can still travel.

Western Australia will close its border to Victoria from midnight in light of the growing outbreak in Melbourne.

WA premier Mark McGowan urged West Australians still in Victoria and who wanted to return home to do so as soon as possible.

“Returning travellers will be permitted to return under the limited exemptions in the coming days, but if the situation worsens we may need to further strengthen these arrangements,” he said in a statement on his Facebook page.

It comes as Queensland has recorded one new locally acquired case of Covid-19 as Annastacia Palaszczuk slammed the border closed to all of Victoria.

The Premier declared the southern state as a hotspot after Melbourne was plunged into a snap five-day lockdown, with any Queenslanders returning from Victoria from 1am Saturday forced into 14-day hotel quarantine.

Only Queensland residents will able to enter the state once the new border policy is introduced and all others will be sent directly back to Victoria.

South Australia and Tasmania have slammed their borders shut to Victoria after the state’s outbreak grew.

New Zealand was also quick to announce it would halt the trans-Tasman bubble with Victoria.

And the Northern Territory has declared Greater Melbourne and parts of regional Victoria hot spots.

Under the changes announced by SA Premier Steven Marshall, level six restrictions will be implemented as of midnight on Thursday night, blocking Victorians from entering the state.

Returning South Australians will be permitted to return under level three restrictions, unless they’ve been in Greater Melbourne, Geelong or Bacchus Marsh.

Once they arrive, they will need Covid tests on days one, five and 13, and must self-quarantine until the first negative result is received.

Anyone returning from Greater Melbourne, Geelong or Bacchus Marsh will have to quarantine for 14 days and get tested.

The premier reassured people living in border communities a “border bubble” would be in place to allow those residents to travel within a 70km radius.

There have so far been 150 people identified in SA who were at a Victorian exposure site.

South Australia will close its border to Victoria at midnight Thursday and will no longer ease restrictions with South East Queensland. Picture: Emma Brasier

Tasmania will close its borders to Victoria from midnight Thursday.

Anyone who has been in Victoria since July 8 will not be permitted into Tasmania unless given an exemption.

“This decision has been made with the intention and responsibility ensuring the protection of Tasmania of the risk posed by Covid, particularly the Delta strain which is causing so many troubles to cities across Australia,” Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr Scott McKeown said.

The Northern Territory has made hotspot declarations for Greater Melbourne, Geelong and the Moorabool Shire, including Bacchus Marsh.

As of 5pm Thursday, anyone arriving in the NT from those areas will be directed into a fortnight of mandatory supervised quarantine, according to information provided on the NT Government’s Covid-19 information website, coronavirus.nt.gov.au

According to the site anyone who has visited a Melbourne exposure site since July 10 is required to isolate and get tested.

Meanwhile, SA border restrictions with 11 local government areas from South East Queensland that were due to relax on the weekend will no longer be eased.

There would also be no changes to hard border arrangements with NSW and the ACT.

“We have seen a huge amount of movement across the Victorian-South Australian border and Queensland- South Australian border because of the school holidays,” Mr Marshall said.

“We know there are worrying developments in those jurisdictions and we need to take actions.”

New Zealand’s Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said the Trans Tasman bubble with Victoria would be halted from Friday until at least Monday.

The MCG is a Covid exposure site. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw

“We acknowledge the frustration and inconvenience that comes with any interruption to trans-Tasman travel, but given the ongoing level of uncertainty around transmission in Melbourne, this is the right action to take,” he said.

Melbourne will be plunged into its fifth lockdown as of midnight tonight, lasting between three to five days.

Residents will only permitted to leave their homes to shop for essential items, get tested or vaccinated, attend essential work, provide medical care or exercise.

Authorities are hoping the snap lockdown will help the state battle its recent outbreak as the Delta strain circulates within the community.

Dozens of travellers were left in the lurch after a Melbourne to Perth flight touched down 15 minutes too late to beat tough new border restrictions.

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan announced on Wednesday that Victoria was now a “low risk” state, after eight new cases were recorded in Melbourne, linked to removalists who travelled from Sydney.

A plane full of travellers from Melbourne to Perth were ordered into two weeks of quarantine after tough new border rules were implemented while they were in the air. ELLEN

As a “low risk” state, anyone who arrives in WA from Victoria must self-isolate for 14 days.

Passengers on board Virgin Australia flight VA681 were met by authorities after touching down at 1.15pm, and were told they would either need to return immediately to Melbourne, or self-isolate for 14 days after the changes came into effect at 1pm.

See below for the latest updates.

Currently, SA, Tasmania and NZ remain very low risk jurisdictions to WA and travel is permitted without testing or quarantining.

The ACT, NT and Victoria are listed as low risk jurisdictions but travellers are required to quarantine for 14 days and be tested on day 11.

NSW and Queensland are considered medium risk and travel from those states is not permitted unless an exemption has been granted. Those who are allowed to enter must quarantine for 14 days and be tested within 48 hours of arriving and again on day 11.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

A hotspot system remains in place, with anyone who arrives in the NT from June 22 that has been to a hotspot or is considered a close contact needing to complete 14 days of mandatory supervised quarantine at the Alice Springs or Howard Springs quarantine facilities.

A full list of travel requirements can be found on the NT Health website.

VICTORIA

From Sunday, July 11 at 11.59pm, NSW and the ACT became red zones under Victoria’s Covid-19 traffic light system.

This means non-Victorian residents are no longer allowed to enter the states, and returning Victorians must self-quarantine for 14 days.

They must get tested within 72 hours of arrival and again on or around day 13 of quarantine.

The below changes also came into effect on Saturday, July 10 at 11.59pm:

Northern Territory: Alice Springs and Greater Darwin – incorporating the City of Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield – have changed from orange zones to green zones. The whole of the Northern Territory is now a green zone.

Queensland: The Local Government Areas of Brisbane, Moreton Bay and regions of the Sunshine Coast have changed from red to orange zones.

Queensland: The Local Government Areas of Townsville (including Magnetic Island), Palm Island, Ipswich, Logan, Redland, Gold Coast, Lockyer Valley, Noosa, Scenic Rim and Somerset have changed from orange zones to green zones.

Western Australia: The Perth Metropolitan Region and Peel Region in WA have changed from orange zones to green zones. The whole of Western Australia is now a green zone.

Travellers from orange zones must apply for a permit to enter Victoria but cannot do so if they have Covid-19 symptoms or had previously been to a red zone. If approved, they must agree to get a Covid-19 test within 72 hours of arrival and remain isolated until a negative result is returned.

Covid-19 hotspot systems remain in place for a number of jurisdictions, barring people who have been to those locations from entering states. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

QUEENSLAND

Anyone who has been to a Covid-19 hotspot is not permitted into the state.

There are currently 35 Local Government Areas in Greater Sydney that are listed, including the Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour.

There are also interstate exposure venues listed in South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, and NSW.

Anyone who has visited these (which can be found here) must follow the health advice issued by their home state and quarantine as per the directions on their Queensland Travel Declaration.

People travelling from elsewhere are asked to monitor for symptoms and get tested if they present.

NEW SOUTH WALES

Borders are open to the ACT, SA and Tasmania but people entering from the NT, Queensland, Victoria or WA will not be permitted if they have visited a Covid-19 place of high concern, potentially making them a close contact of an infected person, during the specified time for that place.

People considered potential casual contacts in those jurisdictions cannot enter the state unless they have been tested and received a negative result. They will need to show proof of this result.

TASMANIA

Tasmania will close its borders to Victoria from midnight Thursday. Anyone who has been in Victoria since July 8 will not be permitted into Tasmania unless given an exemption.

Tasmania currently has a number of LGAs and premises across NSW, Queensland, WA, SA and the NT which are all listed on a government website.

Anyone who has been to a high risk location is not permitted in the state.

The ACT has been labelled the only jurisdiction as whole to be low risk and travel from there is permitted without any additional requirements.

ACT

Non-ACT residents who have been in the Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour regions of NSW are not permitted to travel into the ACT unless they have an approved exemption.

Areas of concern notices have also been issued for NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, and entries rules differ from state to state.

You can find more information here.

– with Emily Consenza

Originally published as Qld, WA shut border to Victoria as NZ halts travel bubble