Coronavirus Gold Coast: City primed for visitor, economic surge as Queensland border reopen date set

It's official, Gold Coast - the border’s will reopen on July 10, and the city is primed for a visitor and economic surge. But the public has been urged to remain vigilant.

THE Gold Coast is primed for a visitor and economic surge after the Queensland Premier locked in July 10’s border reopening - except to Victorians - and fast-tracked easing crippling restrictions.

Gold Coast Airport top brass who watched terminal passenger traffic plummet 99 per cent anticipate 40 per cent will return by August now airlines have certainty to plan flights from NSW and other states.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also brought forward by a week some Stage 3 relaxations to Friday instead of waiting until July 10. From Friday, she has doubled patron limits in small venues – to one person per two square metres instead of four sqm – allowed patrons to get bar service and opened up house parties, weddings and community sport.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk hold a press conference. Picture: David Kapernick

But she warned Victorian visitors faced fines of $4000 for crossing the Queensland-NSW border plus anyone falsely filing a declaration if they had been in Victoria two weeks before crossing.

The Queensland border was closed in late March with hard barriers patrolled by police. The barriers will remain at Tweed-Coolangatta to guard against Victorians.

Ms Palaszczuk: “We believe we have the balance right. My number one concern is to protect Queenslanders.

“Queensland has very large concerns about Victoria. There have been 250 cases in seven days,” she said, included 75 on Monday and 64 yesterday.

“There is community transmission. There’s been outbreaks in hotels, schools, health care, retail. Due to the community transmission levels, the border with Victoria will remain closed and be strengthened,” she said.

From noon this Friday, tougher measures to exclude Victorians mean anyone coming in from Victoria would either be barred or have to quarantine in a hotel at their own cost for a fortnight.

Twin Towns Services Club staff Annie Collinson and Lina Putzolu are toasting the reopening of the Queensland border. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

Ms Palaszczuk was under enormous pressure for a July border reopening after musing in early May a September reopening was “more realistic”. A Bulletin campaign highlighted the giant economic and social cost of keeping it shut.

The Coast would lose more than $1.2 billion in interstate tourism revenue in three months during winter unless it opened. Federal data showed it was costing Queensland 1000 jobs and $147 million a week.

The Prime Minister and a Federal medical advisor had pushed for border reopenings.

Ms Palaszczuk yesterday said “border wars have to stop, and a national leader should have been able to bring all states and territories together”.

“I’m a bit sick that Queensland has been singled out … (and) at the moment what we have is a bit of a confrontation where fights are being picked at different states and frankly I don’t think it’s good enough.”

Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles said Queensland would be fighting outbreaks if it had opened and imported Victorian cases.

Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce President Martin Hall, admitting he watched yesterday with “my heart in my mouth for businesses”, hailed the border date and fast-tracked relaxations as “awesome”.

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“It’s great to see common sense has prevailed in regards to restrictions on businesses. This means smaller cafes and businesses can now get more people in.”

Mr Hall said opening bar service again and not restricting venues to table service would also help reduce labour costs for struggling operators.

“Managers can start developing plans with suppliers, employers and customers.”

Opposition leader Deb Frecklington welcomed the decision to open the borders after “weeks of indecision”.

Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce President Martin Hall. Picture: Richard Gosling

Dr Miles, noting Queensland had two active cases compared to 288 in Victoria, said: “New stricter (border) rules will ensure we contain the virus in Victoria. Our message to Queenslanders is please do not go. Our message to Victorians is do not come until these outbreaks are under control.”

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young urged Queenslanders to keep up distancing discipline and hygiene.

“People, if they are sick, stay home and get tested. That will give us the sign if we have any concerns anywhere in the community,” she said. “This is a virus, we are not going to be able to keep it out. We just have to recognise it as quickly as possible when it happens.”

In other developments:

* a first flight between Australia and NZ will likely be delayed due to “the nature of the return of the virus into Melbourne”.

* NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said her government would not shut the NSW-Victoria border but admitted NSW residents were “starting to relax a little too much” for her liking.