Palaszczuk Government may reopen Queensland border to NSW after 14 days of no community transmission

As speculation grows the Palaszczuk Government may ease its hard line stance on the Queensland border closure to NSW, the state’s Chief Health Officer has spoken out about the ‘reality’ of the situation.

The Queensland Government may reconsider its stance on the current border closure to NSW, as some industry experts call to halve the required number of days without community transmission from 28 days to 14.

Under Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young’s current directive, QLD will only reopen its borders to NSW after the state records 28 days of no community transmission.

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The Queensland Government is considering easing its stance on the border closure with NSW. Picture: Glenn Hunt

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, whose state on Tuesday recorded seven untraceable cases of COVID-19, has labelled Queensland’s stance on border closures as “a tall order”.

In a statement to The Courier-Mail, Dr Jeannette Young said: “As usual, we will review Queensland’s border restrictions at the end of the month.”

“We’re still concerned that in the past four weeks, there have been 14 cases in NSW of which the cause of transmission is unknown.

“For a lot of people at home, it might seem like the pandemic is almost over but in reality, Monday was a record day worldwide for COVID-19 cases.

“We’ve all done so well to protect Queensland and we can’t let our hard work and sacrifices go to waste by rushing a critical decision.”

Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Daniel Gschwind said he hoped the end of the month would bring the news the tourism and broader Queensland community had hoped for.

“It seems a very big challenge to achieve the 28 days (of no community transmission),” Mr Gschwind said.

“It is really difficult to entirely eliminate the virus, and on that basis I think we are concerned that this will be prolonged almost indefinitely.”

Mr Gschwind said if the Chief Health Officer changed her stance on the 28 day rule, instead lowering the number of days to 14, it would offer Queenslanders the opportunity to plan.

“One of the challenges we face right now is that indeterminate uncertainty,” he said.

“How long will this go on and how do we plan for something that is practical? That’s what the community in general is looking for.

“The Queensland Government will assess all the evidence at the end of each month, that is their position and the CHO position, and that is only two weeks away. So hopefully we will see some light at the tunnel at the end of this month.”

Queensland Health has been contacted for comment.