Premier: ‘We need to be on guard’ as Vic outbreak worsens

“This could happen in any part of Australia.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk discusses the current COVID-19 situation at Gladstone Hospital.

PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk remains extremely cautious about the spread of COVID-19 from Victoria into Queensland.

Queensland has continued its consistently good run combating virus infections, with no new cases detected overnight, but Ms Palaszczuk stressed Victorians were not currently welcome.

"If you are from Victoria, please do not try to come into Queensland," she said.

"If there have been people that have come back (to Queensland) before that cut-off, it is very important that if you are sick, you must contact authorities immediately.

"We are keeping Queenslanders safe and I know that parts of Victoria are going into lockdown.

"We have put in place very strong measures and these are the strong measures that we are taking to protect Queenslanders health.

"Our hearts go out to the people in Victoria, which is why we have sent help there as well."

The continued vigilance of Queenslanders about COVID-19 was applauded by the Premier.

"Once again, congratulations Queensland, you should be incredibly proud of the great work you are doing," she said.

"Of course we have to keep up that social distancing and we have got to make sure we are keeping up with the hand hygiene as well.

"So we still have only two active cases."

Ms Palaszczuk said there had been 395,000 virus tests conducted to date across the state.

"The health of Queenslanders has got to come first, so what we are doing is investing in the hospitals and the people that are needed to work there, to deliver world class health services,"

she said.

"I think that we have shown through the pandemic, that we have world's best practices.

"All of our major hospitals are equipped to handle any outbreaks, if and when they happen.

"We are very conscious that what's happening in Melbourne could happen anywhere.

"If you are sick, you must stay home and get tested and we do want people to come forward and get tested if they have any symptoms."

The COVID-19 pandemic remains a national issue, despite Queensland's low infection rate.

"What we are seeing now is a national issue," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"This could happen in any part of Australia, at any time.

"We have seen it happening right across the world and Australia is not unique.

"We need to be on our guard at all times to make sure that as an individual we are taking actions to prevent the spread."

Anyone travelling from NSW into Queensland must be prepared for delays.

"There will be delays at our borders, so you have got to expect that," she said.

"We are going to get this right and we have to take these precautions as they are necessary precautions to keep Queenslanders safe.

"I have asked people to think about how they plan their holidays and their trips, that they think about spreading it and not going at the peak times and spreading it over a number of days.

"We do expect on the weekend there will be lengthy delays, and I'm telling the public now, there will be lengthy delays."