Coronavirus Qld: Premier provides update on state’s latest cases

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared the state would remain closed to residents of New South Wales and Victoria until there was no active community transmission. It comes as Queensland again records no new cases of COVID-19.

Queensland’s borders will remain closed to Victoria and New South Wales until there is no active community transmission.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the State Government would always put Queenslanders first.

“We will put the safety of Queenslanders first and we do not have any intentions of opening any borders while there is community transmission active in Victoria and New South Wales,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk has confirmed there have been no new COVID-19 cases in the state in the past 24 hours while floods of people have been refused entry at the border.

There are now just eight active cases, with 2519 tests carried out in the past 24 hours.

At Queensland’s road borders, 8861 vehicles were intercepted across the long weekend with 594 people turned around.

“These are all people driving into our state, or coming to our state without the proper exemptions, they don’t have a X pass, or an S pass or an F pass,” Deputy Police Commissioner Gollschewski said.

“We’re still seeing people turn up at our road borders with G passes - you won’t get in on those at the moment.

“So there’s either an irregularity in their pass and they’re not allowed in or they’re just simply coming out of a hotspot and they’re not going to be permitted entry.”

From those intercepts, 27 people were placed into quarantine while 3227 people are currently in hotel quarantine in Queensland.

Mr Gollschewski said 132 flights arrived over the weekend. From those, 7230 passengers were processed and 19 were refused entry.

He said authorities were still witnessing a lack of social distancing by some patrons in venues.

Fourteen on-the-spot-fines were issued over the long weekend.

The Premier said she hoped people would get out over the September school holidays to support local businesses.

Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles said at this stage things were going very well in Queensland.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said it was really important the borders kept being managed as they had been so far.

“Everyone does need to maintain that habit of social distancing,” Dr Young said.

period.

It comes as hopes build that all Australians will be able to access any COVID-19 vaccine free-of-charge under a national rollout, possibly by mid-2021.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said it remained unlikely a vaccine would be developed this year, but there is now a “ray of hope” that one can be produced.

“For the first-time I’m cautiously, but realistically optimistic about the search for and ability to distribute a vaccine,” he said.

“It’s unlikely that it will be just one, it’s likely that it will be many.”