Coronavirus Queensland: Border closes to more NSW regions

Queensland has ramped up its response to a Sydney Covid-19 outbreak, expanding border closures to more areas of NSW, including Greater Sydney, the Central Coast and Blue Mountains.

Queensland has shut its border to more NSW regions, including Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour from 1am Thursday.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said Queensland was taking a cautious approach as new positive cases of the Covid-19 virus emerged from NSW.

“I know this is a difficult time, but my priority is always the health and safety of Queenslanders,” Dr Young said.

“The sharp rise of cases in Sydney today is extremely concerning due to many of these cases being infected by fleeting contact.”

Dr Young said the highly contagious Delta variant, which had been circulating in NSW, was much more contagious than other variants.

“We do not want it circulating in Queensland,” she said.

Dr Young said Queenslanders should not travel to Greater Sydney and surrounding regions at this time.

From 1am Thursday, anyone who has been to any of the latest declared NSW hot spots will not be allowed to enter Queensland unless they are a returning resident, “except for a limited range of people who can enter for an essential purpose”.

Those who can enter Queensland will need to complete 14 days’ quarantine in government arranged accommodation.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk earlier today announced border closures to a number of Sydney Covid hot spots.

It comes after Queensland detected one new case of the Delta variant of Covid-19 overnight – which was transmitted between guests on the same floor of hotel quarantine.

There were no cases of community transmission overnight.

Queensland will close to six local government areas in NSW from 1am Thursday, including the City of Sydney, Woollahra, Bayside, Canada Bay, Inner West, and Randwick.

The closure impacts about 782,000 Sydneysiders. Waverley remains a declared hot spot.

Ms Palaszczuk said anyone entering Queensland who has been in any of these areas within the past 14 days must go into hotel quarantine.

Non-Queensland residents will need an exemption to enter Queensland.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has closed Queensland's borders to a number of Sydney Covid hot spots. Picture: Dan Peled

Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said the decision to close the border came after the Sydney cluster grew to 21 cases and exposure sites increased significantly.

“The risk is so much higher now,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said the Delta variant of the virus was causing grave concerns across the world because it spread rapidly.

She said there had been more spread of the virus in Queensland hotel quarantine, this time in the Novotel Hotel at Brisbane Airport.

Dr Young said the Delta virus had spread between quarantining guests in separate rooms on floor five of the hotel.

One person who had travelled from Zambia tested positive while in hotel quarantine, then days later a couple in an adjacent room on the same floor contracted the virus.

Dr Young said with the Delta variant “we’re seeing very fleeting contact leading to transmission”.

“A year ago we were saying the virus was transmitted from 15 minutes of close contact and it now looks like five or 10 seconds (of contact), that’s a concern,” she said.

She said other guests on floor five were having to have their hotel quarantine extended.

“We will be doing an investigation in relation to that matter,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“We cannot afford to have this Delta variant in our community.”

Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland police would increase the number of road intercepts at the border to ensure people were following border restrictions.

Ms Palaszczuk said it was important that the Federal Government secured as much supply of Covid-19 vaccines as possible.

But she also said Queenslanders should not forget the virus could still be transmitted by people who had been vaccinated.

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young says there is concern over how rapidly the Delta variant of Covid spreads. Picture: Dan Peled

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said it was important for Queensland to monitor the Delta variant outbreak in Sydney.

He said the outbreaks in hotel quarantine underlined once again the need for regional quarantine facilities.

He said the Federal Government had effectively ruled out a regional quarantine facility in Queensland.

The border restrictions will throw school holiday plans into chaos with thousands of tourists expected to travel to Queensland from Sydney.

However, the state remains on track to lift restrictions on Greater Melbourne from 1am Friday.