Premier admits Queensland’s hard borders powerless to stop NSW’s Delta outbreak

The Premier has admitted, amid the state’s latest Covid scare and nine truckies having entered Queensland while infectious, hard borders won’t stop the Delta outbreak.

Health authorities will continue to rely on “trust” that essential workers arriving into Queensland do the right thing despite nine freight drivers carrying Covid-19 across the border.

A comfortable Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the southeast’s Covid-19 outbreak risk had eased after a New South Wales man infected a Queensland family after staying visiting on September 5.

However, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has acknowledged Queensland’s hard border with NSW won’t stop the virus entering with thousands of essential workers transiting state lines every day.

Nine freight drivers have crossed the border and spent time in the community while infectious.

Police speak with a truck driver at the Queensland border with NSW. Picture: Getty Images

Dr Young said essential workers who entered Queensland were not monitored for compliance with their exemption pass.

“We trust them that they come in, that they do whatever they need to do as part of their work and then they return home,” she said.

However, she said infected truckies posed significant concern and showed ‘these cases can happen anywhere’.

Ms Palaszczuk said Australia’s transport ministers were discussing how to minimise the spread of Covid-19 by freight workers, who are already tested every three days.

“The problem with testing every truck driver that comes into the state is we have thousands,” she said.

“You can imagine then the traffic jams that we would have.

“Let’s keep all options on the table.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Annette Dew

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said authorities were investigating the compliance of three people who entered Queensland from New South Wales which sparked the weekend outbreak.

“We are investigating the circumstances of that, that’s going to take some little time to do that because we need to access other documentation,” he said.

“Some of those people have returned to NSW which is currently at least in part in lockdown.

“We’ll pull all the passes that they did have – we’re working through that.”