NSW Covid-19 restrictions at Qld border discussed by Gladys Berejiklian

“I do not want to see Covid in the Tweed”: A border truckie has tested positive for Covid-19 as the NSW premier teases a positive path out of restrictions for regional NSW.

Queensland has called for returning residents to stop travelling to the border via road amid NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s call for their state to act with compassion over border exemptions and closures.

Premier Berejiklian on Thursday said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk needed to guide with “compassion” and “pragmatism” on decisions over the border between their states.

But she said moving the border line was still off the table.

“In Northern NSW there’s barely been any cases for months and months, I hope she can accept the border communities do live as one,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Please consider the risk and (that the community) has functioned as one for generations.”

At the Thursday Queensland press conference, Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young urged residents to stop travelling to the border via road and possibly seeding Covid-19 across the Northern NSW region.

She said she had only ever asked residents to travel by plane and denied making “the job harder for NSW”.

“I do not want to see Covid in the Tweed,” she said.

“That’s the whole point of trying to make the bubble with the region there and I can’t with cases there.”

She also addressed the NRL border scandal and Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt’s claim it was a “profound moral failure”.

“Those NRL players came into their own hotel, it was not a Queensland Government hotel. If it had been, all that would have happened is that we would not have had those NRL games,” she said.

“Maybe that’s what people would have preferred.”

She said their hotels were 100 per cent self-funded with private security and healthcare.

It comes as the NSW Government finalises a road map out of restrictions.

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro provides an update on COVID-19 for NSW. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Deputy Premier John Barilaro has said the road map would include consideration about whether Sydneysiders and hotspot residents could travel to regional NSW.

He said it was likely only those double vaccinated would be able to make the trips into regional NSW.

“We’re looking at that to make sure we protect our vulnerable communities,” he said.

Ms Berejiklian also said she would like to see all NSW local government areas come out of restrictions together rather than on a case-by-case basis.

“As much as possible we’d keep a keen eye on how every local government area is going but we’d love to see the state move forward together,” she said.

“We acknowledge there’s some communities out there we need to put more concerted effort into.”

It is the latest in a push to open the state at a 80 per cent double dose vaccination rate and resume international and interstate travel.

Plans to move the Queensland border are not gaining traction with the NSW government. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Ms Berejiklian on Thursday said interstate travel would depend on neighbouring premiers realising “perfection in a pandemic can never be achieved”.

It comes as Queensland border region truckie tested positive for Covid-19 and students from a Gold Coast school were forced into home quarantine.

Ms Palaszczuk on Thursday said the Covid-19 positive Gold Coast man had travelled to Sydney and was still in NSW.

The man was infectious in the community for five days from August 28 to September 1 and contact tracing investigations have started.

Ms Palaszczuk also said the Australian International Islamic College at Carrara had been forced into lockdown as a result of a student allegedly boasting to classmates they had travelled to Melbourne.

Dr Jeanette Young said the associated family were refusing testing and not co-operating and had travelled through NSW to return to Queensland.