Queensland border may reopen to Victorians, as Tasmania may welcome visitors by November 27
Victorians may be allowed to travel to Queensland before Sydneysiders, after recording 12 consecutive days of zero coronavirus cases.
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Victorians may be allowed to travel to Queensland before Sydneysiders, increasing tensions between state leaders over ongoing border battles.
Victorians could be permitted to head to the sunshine state from December — before residents of COVID-19 “hot spot” Sydney — after now recording 12 consecutive days of zero new coronavirus cases.
Tasmania revealed it may allow Victorian travellers to visit without quarantining by November 27.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said there was “a good chance they’ve eliminated the virus in Melbourne”, prompting hopes travel restrictions would be eased before Christmas.
“Hopefully we will be able to open borders to Melbourne and not require any form of quarantine,” she said.
Dr Young said on Tuesday a final decision on whether to open the border would be made by the end of November, with any changes effective from December 1.
The news “mortified” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who said it was “cruel” Queensland was considering opening its borders to Victorians before allowing residents of Greater Sydney to head north for the festive season and summer holidays.
“I think it is unjustified and I think it is spiteful,” she said.
“NSW has demonstrated you can manage the pandemic by keeping the community safe, but also by keeping people in jobs and keeping people mobile and relatively free in a COVID-safe way. We’re doing the heavy lifting and we do it because we are Australians. I think it is appropriate that people recognise that, and are not so cruel in letting politics get in the way of public health.”
A Victorian government spokeswoman said: “We have always said reducing case numbers was the way to reopen borders and all Victorians should be proud of the gains we have made. We welcome the decisions of other state governments to reopen borders and bring families back together.”
Victoria reported 12 consecutive days of no virus cases on Wednesday, and in the fortnight leading up to November 7 there was only one mystery case. NSW recorded four cases, all of which were overseas arrivals in quarantine.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had previously said she wanted to see 28 consecutive days without a mystery case before considering opening the border to NSW.
Tasmania will on Friday move to classify Victoria as a medium-risk rather than high-risk destination, with the state “well on track” to be deemed low-risk by November 27.
It would pave the way for the island state to reopen to the entire mainland for the first time in eight months.
Currently, people travelling from a medium-risk location must quarantine at a fixed address, not necessarily a quarantine hotel.
— David Killick, Jack Evans
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Originally published as Queensland border may reopen to Victorians, as Tasmania may welcome visitors by November 27