Push states for border clarity, NSW records just one COVID case
A Sydney couple has been fined more than $9000 after allegedly sneaking across the Queensland border in a freight truck. It comes as NSW recorded just one new COVID-19 case overnight — the lowest number in seven weeks.
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A Sydney couple has been fined more than $9000 after allegedly sneaking across the Queensland border in a freight truck.
The pair were stopped by police at Murrumba Downs – more than 120km from the border – about 1.30pm on Wednesday.
Officers found the 27-year-old man had crossed the border using a freight category border declaration pass, but the 21-year-old woman who was also in the truck did not have a declaration pass.
The St Clair woman and the Jordan Springs man were each issued with a $4003 penalty infringement notice for failing to comply with Queensland’s COVID-19 border direction.
The man was also hit with a string of heavy vehicle traffic infringements and fines totalling $1305 for his vehicle being over length and failing to record information in a work diary.
Anyone who has been in a COVID-19 hot spot within the last 14 days cannot enter Queensland unless they have a valid border declaration pass.
A separate declaration pass is required for everyone entering Queensland, and all people travelling together must be eligible to enter the state.
NSW CASES NUMBERS HIT 50-DAY LOW
Despite the state recording just one new COVID-19 case overnight, NSW Health has expanded the list of areas where virus transmission is of particular concern.
NSW recorded one new case out of 32,580 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
It’s the seventh consecutive day of single digit cases, and lowest number since July 3 when zero infections were reported.
The latest case is a close contact of a previously reported infection at Hornsby Hospital.
NSW Health wants high rates of testing to continue to help find the source of a number of infections still under investigation.
At least 16 cases in the past six weeks have no known source.
As such local governments in Newcastle, Woollahra, The Hills, Hornsby along with Guildford and Merrylands were added to the ‘hotspot’ list to increase surveillance of community transmission. Anyone who lives in or has visited these areas in the last two weeks is urged to get tested if even the mildest symptoms occur.
PM TO PUSH FOR BORDER CLARITY
It comes as Scott Morrison is expected to push for clearer guidelines on border closures at today’s National Cabinet meeting.
The Prime Minister wants a uniform agreement on guidelines and rules for the states to address the medical treatment of people living in border communities, farmers with properties that cross state boundaries and other hardship cases, The Australian reports.
It’s understood the majority of state premiers and chief ministers are supportive of establishing guidelines on how to deal with special border cases.
VICTORIA VIRUS CASES FALL
Victoria has recorded 179 new coronavirus cases — the lowest daily increase since July 13.
Another nine Victorians have died from the virus in the past 24 hours.
It comes after a statewide ban on evictions and rental price hikes was extended until at least the end of the year.
Treasurer Tim Pallas made the announcement on Thursday afternoon following news Victoria had recorded a further 240 coronavirus infections and 13 more deaths.
“Nobody should be worried about losing a roof over their head right now – particularly given the circumstances around social distancing,” he said.
POLICE HUNT FOR PHANTOM TRAVELLERS
NSW Police were sent on pointless COVID isolation checks by an automated system before the people they were looking for had even entered the state.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal police had to scramble to tighten COVID procedures as thousands of people received special permits to cross the NSW border from virus-riddled Victoria.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian shut the border on July 8, meaning people who wanted to enter NSW required a permit and had to self-isolate unless they had an exemption. Those granted permits had 14 days to make the trip before the permit expired.
Confusion arose when Service NSW began forwarding the permits to NSW Police to carry out isolation checks. Incoming travellers were flagged for a police check from the date the permit was issued rather than the date they arrived.
Home after home visited by police did not contain the target individuals, who later informed officers in follow-up calls they were still in Victoria and were often days away from leaving.
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Police could not put a number on the times they prematurely knocked on doors, but said once they realised the glitch they began phoning people first.
Officers were faced with a monumental job of checking on returning NSW residents, with 13,561 granted permits to re-enter the state between July 22 and August 5.
The Daily Telegraph understands police on the ground became frustrated at the wasted resources, as did their bosses.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Leanne McCusker put the issue to down “teething problems”.
“When the border operation began, Commissioner (Mick) Fuller asked the community to be patient while the permit system was rolled out. Being the first operation of its kind, teething problems were inevitable,” Ms McCusker told The Daily Telegraph.
“This issue was relatively minor, and quickly identified and overcome. We now have a tried and tested system in place that is effective and efficient.”
Three weeks into the border shutdown the government reduced the permit expiry window from 14 days to three to try to fix the problem.
It was not until August 10 that a QR code system was introduced at the border, allowing travellers to scan in electronically when they physically arrived in the state.
On August 5, Premier Gladys Berejiklian extended the hotel quarantine system to include anyone entering from Victoria and exemptions.
Since police began Operation Border Closure on July 7 officers have done 9800 isolation checks on at least 11,000 people and carried out 17,000 business inspections. They have issued 144 fines for COVID breaches – 136 individuals and eight businesses.
Each week police have also deployed 760 officers to the border compliance and hotel quarantine operations.
RULES AROUND COVID CLEANING A BIT TOO FOGGY
Businesses directed to undertake a deep clean after being linked to a COVID case are not being inspected by health authorities before they reopen, with some venues using techniques that are not recommended as an effective way to eliminate the virus.
The concerning revelations have led state Labor to call for extra safety measures in venues attended by an infected person in a bid to keep the community safe.
NSW Health confirmed it does not conduct inspections of businesses told to disinfect their premises, because COVID cleaning was a “workplace health and safety issue”.
SafeWork Australia outlines extensive cleaning guidelines for businesses linked to a confirmed or suspected coronavirus case.
However, the workplace health and safety regulator doesn’t conduct inspections before a business reopens.
The regulator said it was the duty of a business to ensure proper cleaning has been done.
Employers are told they “must thoroughly clean and disinfect all areas of suspected contamination” if a confirmed or suspected coronavirus case has been at the workplace.
The guidelines state businesses should conduct a “physical clean” with detergent and a bleach solution.
However, some companies are also adopting hi-tech cleaning methods that are not recommended as an “effective way to eliminate COVID-19”.
Ghostbuster-style fogging guns have been used around the world to spray down streets, including in the world’s coronavirus capital, Wuhan.
However, NSW Health does not recommend the expensive practice, saying “fogging is unnecessary”.