Queensland Border: Another NSW suburb banned from entering state as new restrictions enforced
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she will not hesitate to close the border to more of NSW, after banning Sydney from entry.
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Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced all of Greater Sydney will now be banned from entering the Sunshine State, after recording two new cases of COVID-19 overnight.
Speaking from Brisbane, Ms Palaszczuk said she was “furious” that two teenagers had evaded hotel quarantine after returning to Queensland from Brisbane, saying a full investigation would be conducted by police.
The Premier said the new cases – and the growing number of outbreaks across parts of NSW – prompted her to make the decision to close off the border to anyone from Greater Sydney. The decision comes just 24 hours after Ms Palaszczuk said she would not hesitate to “slam the door shut” on NSW if community transmission cases continued to increase.
RELATED: Qld borders shut to Greater Sydney region amid coronavirus outbreak
“Queensland will now declare Greater Sydney as a COVID hotspot,” Ms Palaszczuk said on Wednesday.
“There has been more outbreaks in other parts of Greater Sydney and that will now become another declared hot spot … effective from 1am Saturday morning and we have done that so we can give notice to Queenslanders.
“We must protect Queenslanders,” she added. “Your safety comes first and we are in extraordinary times at the moment.
“We have to do everything we can so that would take effect 1am Saturday morning.”
Police in Queensland have ramped up restrictions on travellers from NSW, with the number of considered “hot spots” growing around the state.
Along with Greater Sydney, travellers from Fairfield – or anyone who has visited the suburbs within the council area – will be turned away from the border.
Sydney’s Campbelltown and Liverpool council areas as well as the state of Victoria are also on Queensland’s hotspot list and unable to enter the state. It is reported that the new travel restrictions will impact millions of Sydney residents from entering the state.
On Tuesday, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she will “slam the borders shut” to New South Wales as a whole state if widespread community transmission of coronavirus continues.
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As health authorities in NSW monitor various outbreaks of COVID-19, Ms Palaszczuk said she will act on any future health advice regarding the border.
“Every single day we are monitoring what is happening in NSW,” she said.
“We will not hesitate to declare hot spots or if it gets out of control, to slam the border shut.”
Queensland recorded two new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the state’s active cases to seven.
“Complacency is our enemy,” the Premier warned.
Originally published as Queensland Border: Another NSW suburb banned from entering state as new restrictions enforced