Coronavirus NSW: Qld border closes, Scott Morrison rejects UK flight ban
A super-spreading COVID strain detected in returned travellers will not stop flights into Australia; Roadblocks have been erected at the Queensland border.
NSW
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Queensland will introduce a hard border with NSW once again amid a coronavirus outbreak on Sydney’s northern beaches, Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced.
Ms Palaszczuk revealed the measure on Monday afternoon after the NSW Government recorded another 15 new cases linked to the growing Avalon cluster.
The Queensland Premier said the government was reimposing strict road blocks between the states to stop border dodgers who were “doing the wrong thing”.
Anyone who enters Queensland from NSW will require a permit to cross the border via road or air, while anyone who has visited a declared hotspot in the last 14 days will be turned back.
The declared hotspots include greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Illawarra-Shoalhaven, and Nepean Blue Mountains.
The only people who will still be accepted after visiting a hotspot are Queensland residents, those moving to the state or who need to enter to fulfill shared parenting arrangements, obtain essential health care or to provide support to a person obtaining health care.
Ms Palaszczuk said there had been cases of people crossing into Queensland without permission, which sparked the need for “swift action”.
Barriers will be rolled out throughout Monday afternoon with the hard border, that will see police check the declaration pass of every car that tries to enter, to be fully in place from 6am on Tuesday morning.
“What we are seeing is that people are now reaching (Queensland) and being turned around, so there will be a hard border closure which will be going in place,” she said.
“By 6am tomorrow it will be back to the strong border measures that we have seen in Queensland, that have kept Queenslanders safe.”
The previous measures stated all arrivals from NSW hot spots into Queensland must undergo 14 days mandatory quarantine.
NEW HEALTH ALERTS
Health authorities extended their COVID warnings for three Sydney pubs, and added new venues to the alert list on Monday afternoon.
It comes as the outbreak spread to the city, after a person went to their CBD workplace unaware they had contracted the virus.
NSW Health said the five CBD cases were linked to the Avalon cluster with close contacts - including 10 other workers - tested and isolating.
Click here for a full list of health alerts at Sydney venues.
PM REJECTS UK FLIGHT BAN
A super-spreading strain of the coronavirus from the UK does not warrant stopping flights into Australia, according to health experts and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, who was permanently appointed to the role on Monday, said the new UK strain of the virus did not warrant tougher restrictions at this stage.
“There have been thousands of mutations of this particular novel coronavirus,” he said.
“The particular strain circulating especially in the south-east of England at the moment has particular mutations related to the spike protein, important because it is the way the virus gets into the cells.
“There is no definite evidence that this is a significant change.”
Prof Kelly said while there had been more transmission in the south-east of the UK, the new strain of COVID-19 wasn’t the only factor as there had also been more movement and it was winter.
Mr Morrison said Australia would follow medical advice on the UK strain.
“We have no plans to go down the path of (banning UK flights),” he said.
“We always take the medical advice on these things and as Professor Kelly has set out, at this stage there’s nothing to suggest that such a significant action would be warranted.”
Mr Morrison said Australia’s hotel quarantine system has been a “very effective and important defence” in the “vast majority of cases”.
On Monday, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant emphasised that the Avalon cluster does not have the same mutations of the super-spreading UK variant of COVID-19.
The UK strain – which could be up to 70 per cent more infectious than previous iterations of COVID-19 – has been linked with rapidly rising infections in the UK.
Asked whether she was concerned about the new strain, Dr Chant said: “yes”.
“I’m advised that we’ve had a couple of UK returned travellers with the particular mutations you’re referring to,” she said.
“Can I be very clear that the Avalon cluster strain does not have those mutations.”
‘INSULAR’ NORTHERN BEACHES HELPS REST OF SYDNEY
Christmas for millions of Sydneysiders could be saved by the fact Northern Beaches residents lead an “insular” local life, as health officials describe the COVID-19 outbreak trend as “good”.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said the Avalon cluster has remained very localised, which has dramatically helped the fortunes of the rest of NSW.
“That part of the Northern Beaches is quite insular, actually, they tend to stay where they are in that peninsula,” he said.
“So all of the cases so far, all of them, the 83 locally acquired cases that have happened since the 17 December in NSW have been linked back to the cluster.”
Prof Kelly said while he “cannot absolutely guarantee” cases won’t go up, the outlook was promising.
“At the moment the trend is good and crucially, despite the fact that we had 38,578 tests yesterday, all they found was 15 (cases) and they were all linked to that
particular cluster.
“That is a huge response from the community and a real shout out to the people of Greater Sydney but particularly the Northern Beaches.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said paid pandemic leave was available to Sydney residents without sick leave who were forced to stop working while isolating after a COVID-19 test.
“For those who need to access that payment, they can access that payment and hopefully, but will be of great use to you,” he said.
Mr Morrison said he welcomed the reduction in confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday compared to the previous 24 hours.
“Those of you who know Sydney well know that the peninsula is a very cohesive community that tends to keep to itself, a bit like the Shire, where I’m from, and that is certainly I think assisting in making sure that the Avalon outbreak is staying exactly where it is,” he said.
“As we go into these next few days we will be watching carefully, as we endeavour to understand whether there has been further seeding, or any seeding I should say, there hasn’t been at this point, in other parts of the city or other places.”
NSW RECORDS 15 CASES ON RECORD DAY
NSW has recorded 15 new locally-acquired coronavirus cases, all linked to the Avalon cluster, on a record day where 38,000 people were tested across the state.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian it was pleasing to see a reduction in the daily numbers.
“To date, every single case we’ve had to date has been linked to the Avalon cluster, and that’s how we want to keep it. Although, obviously some venues outside of the Northern Beaches have been impacted,” she said.
The outbreak now numbers 83 infections.
She said the government is monitoring restrictions currently in place on an “hourly brief”.
A number of smaller clusters linked with the Avalon outbreak have been identified, Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
Five cases have been identified linked with a Turramurra hair salon, and an additional case has been linked with The Rose of Australia pub in Erskineville.
NSW Health is concerned about incomplete record keeping at both venues, she said.
Aged care facilities have been told not to welcome visitors until Wednesday
The Premier also urged people to wear masks.
“If you are catching public transport you need to be wearing a mask, if you’re going grocery shopping you need to be wearing a mask, if you’re doing indoor shopping in a mall, you need to be wearing a mask,” she said.
“We already know what the high-risk areas are, we know where the high-risk areas of transmission are. Don’t think you are immune.”
USING FALSE NAMES ‘AS STUPID AS IT GETS’
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said people giving false names and phone numbers to venues must stop.
He said people calling themselves Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse “is as stupid as it gets”.
“This is a worldwide COVID pandemic. Thinking it’s smart to call yourself Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse is about as stupid as it gets. So that must cease.”
Mr Hazzard also encouraged businesses to use the Service NSW app to keep track of patrons and customers.
”Businesses who do have QR codes and are using other than the Service NSW providers really need to equip themselves now with the knowledge of who they call in the event that they get a call from Health.
“They need to be able to tell our health tracers clearly what the data is that their provider, is actually holding.”
TWO FINED FOR ENTERING NORTHERN BEACHES
Police have fined two people for entering the Northern Beaches while the area remains in lockdown.
A Padstow man, aged 60, and Bankstown woman, aged 39, were stopped by police conducting patrols on Manly’s East Esplanade around 4pm on Sunday.
Both were issued an infringement notice for failing to comply with the public health order and told to leave the area.
BRAD HAZZARD DEFENDS MASK POLICY
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has defended his government’s decision to not make masks mandatory.
Mr Hazzard said he was concerned if they were made compulsory it could turn bus drivers into policemen.
“I don’t think masks by any means are the sole answer and if that is what you think, I’m sorry, they that is not the advice we have been given,” he told Nine.
“They are important though. If you are in Greater Sydney, certainly if you are on the Northern Beaches, if you are on the Northern Beaches, if you are inside or going shopping wear a mask except if you are eating.”
SOUTH AUSTRALIA SHUTS BORDER EARLY
The South Australian border slammed shut six hours early for one Sydney family who made the long journey to spend Christmas with their family in Adelaide yesterday.
Jo Griffiths, her husband Ian and son Zac from Wattle Grove in Sydney were turned away at the border several hours before mandatory new quarantine restrictions came into force at midnight.
Mrs Griffiths said they were told by police at the border checkpoint they could not enter SA unless they were willing to go into quarantine for 14 days.
Mrs Griffiths said the family’s border passes were all in order when they were turned away at 6pm.
“A policewoman at the checkpoint said “ As of now we are not letting anyone through’’ Mrs Griffiths said.
“We had this trip planned for months to see family,” Mrs Griffiths said.
“This has ruined everything for us.”
NORTHERN BEACHES PLAY WAITING GAME
Instead of pavement cafes packed with families, North Avalon beach filled with locals and eastern suburb visitors buying up big for their Palm Beach holiday homes, the usually glittering jewel of the Northern Beaches was a shell of itself on Sunday.
They call themselves the insular peninsula but this is not want they meant.
“I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” mother-of-four Natalie Robb said.
“We just don’t know what to do.”
Locals are holding their breath to see what Premier Gladys Berejiklian decides after the lockdown is due to end a minute to midnight on Wednesday.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard, himself a Northern Beaches local, yesterday told people not to play the blame game but that hasn’t stopped the rumours.
“There is absolutely no evidence to indicate that any person knowingly who had the virus came into the Northern Beaches,” Mr Hazzard said.
“It could be any one of us.”
The disease detectives contact tracing with NSW Heath still have not tracked down the missing link – where and when the virus got into Avalon. The first recorded cases have been traced to the RSL on Friday December 11, but NSW Health has asked anyone who attended Anytime Fitness on Avalon Parade as far back as November 23 to get tested.
Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said it was “upstreaming” to try and find the source.
Genome sequencing has linked the Avalon cluster to a US strain of COVID. Authorities confirmed yesterday that a US woman who arrived in Australia on December 1 and tested positive the day after had been infectious while on the plane. As yet there are no links between her and Avalon.
“We have to keep an open mind because there may yet be an unknown source,” Dr Chant said.
Sewage testing on December 10 was negative for COVID but was positive by December 18. But by then, the virus had escaped the Northern Beaches with alerts as far north as Forster and down to Cronulla.
As thousands queued for mass testing Qantas pilot Dooley Ellis found himself in a job. He went to the Manly Hospital COVID clinic for a test and was hired. Now he works at the drive thru clinic directing traffic and answering people‘s questions.
“I‘m doing it to help out the community. I’ve also tried to convince more people to come along,” he said.
After his first day on the new job, Mr Ellis brought his wife and a friend along to also take on the role.
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