Truck stop 18km from Queensland border declared exposure zone after 111 new cases in NSW

Queensland has again recorded no local cases of coronavirus, but health authorities remain on high alert after positive Covid cases visited a busy service station in northern New South Wales, just 18km from the Queensland border.

Queensland has recorded one new case of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, acquired overseas and picked up in hotel quarantine.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk took to social media this morning to say Queensland had recorded no new locally acquired cases overnight.

It comes as Covid-19 cases from NSW have come within kilometres of Queensland’s border, stopping overnight at a service station in Chinderah.

Sunday 18 July – coronavirus cases in Queensland:

No new locally acquired cases recorded in Queensland overnight.

1 new overseas acquired case, detected in hotel quarantine.#covid19pic.twitter.com/BLlCdJa2rI

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 17, 2021

The revelation follows another explosion of 111 cases in the southern state, including one death, sparking tougher restrictions that will effectively shut down all construction in Greater Sydney on Monday.

NSW Health late on Saturday revealed positive cases had visited the truck stop at the Ampol service station northbound near Murwillumbah turn-off between 8.30pm on July 13 and 7.30am on July 14.

Ampol Service Centre at Chinderah (formerly Caltex Starmart) has been added to the NSW Covid contact list after positive cases stayed overnight on Tuesday.

The people used the toilets, showers, lounge and food court at the service station, which is just 18km from the border.

Queensland was on Saturday resisting shutting the border to all of NSW, but authorities were on high alert.

Chief health officer Jeannette Young has urged Queenslanders to consider whether they need to leave the state right now, as the highly infectious Delta variant continues to spread across the country. 

No new locally acquired cases were recorded in Queensland on Saturday while one, which was acquired overseas, was detected in hotel quarantine.

The news comes as the AFL is on tenterhooks after several players and staff from Covid-ravaged Melbourne and Sydney were plunged into lockdown in Queensland after being exposed to a regraded Tier 1 site in Victoria. Players and staff from up to eight AFL clubs – including Irish Hawk Conor Nash – are in lockdown.

The Wallabies-France rugby Test at AAMI Park on Tuesday night was the common denominator across some of the affected clubs, but other exposure sites were also involved.

Several AFL players and staff from Covid-ravaged Melbourne and Sydney have been plunged into lockdown in Queensland. Picture: David Geraghty

A supporter at the Test match tested positive for Covid. Nash, who attended the rugby, returned a negative test result but was withdrawn from Saturday night’s game against Melbourne.

The other clubs affected were Essendon, North Melbourne, Sydney, Greater Western Sydney, Collingwood, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs, but the AFL expected all games in round 18 to proceed as scheduled.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said the AFL had complied with all public health directions, including the interstate exposure site requirements.

“All persons who have been to an interstate exposure site are required to isolate, get tested and await further advice from Queensland Health,” she said.

Dr Young said the NSW outbreak was very concerning. “I’d like all Queenslanders to strongly consider their need to leave the state – particularly anyone over the age of 70 who is not vaccinated, now is not the time to leave Queensland,” she said.