Quarantine exemption plan for Victorians amid rush to beat Sydney border closure
Certain Victorians passing through Sydney may be exempt from quarantining under a proposed new plan. It comes as a flight attendant was revealed as the state’s latest case.
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Victoria on Monday posted its 52nd straight day of zero local COVID-19 cases, with a recently-arrived flight attendant who has been in self-quarantine taking the number of active cases to 13.
The flight attendant flew on a flight with crew only from Doha on Saturday.
Their colleagues tested negative and left Australia on a crew-only flight to complete their quarantine in their home country.
One local close contact, who drove the crew from the airport to their hotel, was identified.
They are now serving 14 days quarantine.
It comes as the Victorian government is eyeing a quarantine exemption for returning overseas travellers who have done their time in isolation after arriving in Sydney.
New South Wales recorded 15 new community coronavirus cases overnight, all linked to the Avalon cluster.
There are now 83 cases linked to the Northern Beaches outbreak — but the state recorded 30 fewer cases on Monday than on Sunday.
Premier Daniel Andrews revealed on Monday that he and his advisers were engaged in late Sunday night discussions on how to spare Victorians from quarantining twice.
It would apply to Victorians returning from overseas who have completed a fortnight in mandatory hotel quarantine in Sydney.
The current plan revolves around making the airport in Sydney an exemption from the “red zone” from which people can’t travel south of the border without quarantining for 14 days.
Mr Andrews said he understood the sudden imposition of a new border regime was tough on people, but defended the decision to declare all of Greater Sydney a hotspot along with the coronavirus-stricken northern beaches.
“When you get advice there is a deteriorating set of circumstances in Sydney that means there’s a danger there - you have to act,” he said.
“As difficult as (the border closure) is, and I appreciate it’s very challenging, that’s nothing compared to a third wave.”
Victorian officials, keen to keep community transmission to zero after eliminating a devastating second wave of infections, decided over the weekend to expand the parts of NSW considered “red zones” to include a swath of land stretching south to Wollongong and north to the NSW Central Coast.
“We are working to excise the airport from the red zone, so if you were to travel from a hotel to the airport you have not essentially visited the hotspot – you are not part of the red zone,” Mr Andrews said.
“There might still be some testing and a short time you have to stay home.”
Other parts of the plan that were discussed included mandating the person wears a mask the entire way from Sydney to Victoria, and that the person doesn’t leave the airport in Sydney.
“You’ve got to go from the hotel, to the airport, to our airport,” Mr Andrews said.
He said the details would be ironed out to ensure those affected by the plan knew what to expect.
People who live in those zones or have recently set foot there will not be issued a border pass and will not be able to enter Victoria for the time being.
Meanwhile, Victoria has recorded one new case of coronavirus in a returned traveller. Nearly 13,700 Victorians were tested on Sunday.
And the inquiry into Victoria’s disastrous hotel quarantine system has released its final report, including one finding that will “shock the public”.
COVID COULD SPREAD TO WIDER SYDNEY
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned there was some risk of the spreading into wider Sydney, as some who contracted COVID-19 did visit venues “outside of the northern beaches”.
She said the government is monitoring restrictions currently in place on an “hourly brief”.
But the premier also took aim at the rest of Australia as every state and territory shut its border to millions of Sydney residents.
Victoria has now closed its border to Sydney, forcing many Victorians who travelled north to make frantic dashes home to avoid hotel quarantine.
Ms Berejiklian pointed out the only time NSW closed its border to any jurisdiction was when Victoria’s case numbers were in the triple digits.
“The various premiers have made various decisions about borders but I ask people to think about things compassionately and base it on the facts,” she said.
“The only time that New South Wales has closed the border to anyone was (with) Victoria. Their case numbers were more than 140 before we took that decision, and it was subsequently and then up to 180.
“I use that fact to put things into perspective. Yes, of course, I’m concerned by what’s happening in New South Wales. But every response has to be proportionate to the risk.”
The premier urged state and territory governments to “think about the heartbreak” caused by border decisions.
“It impacts not just people in New South Wales, but people in your home states that may not have been reunited with family or friends or significant others for a long period of time,” she said.
Ms Berejiklian said the current outbreak was a “volatile situation” but 45 per cent of returned travellers to Sydney were from other states and NSW was carrying a heavy load.
A number of smaller clusters linked with the Avalon outbreak have been identified, Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
But it has been confirmed the more virulent strain of COVID-19 that stopped the United Kingdom in its tracks has arrived in Australia.
Dr Chant said confirmed two travellers from the UK had brought the new strain into the country, which is estimated to be 70 per cent more transmissible than earlier versions of the virus.
A surge in cases in the UK was sparked by the new infectious strain of the virus, called VUI202012/01.
England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said there was no evidence to suggest the strain caused a higher mortality rate or affected vaccines but was working to confirm that information.
VICTORIANS RUSH HOME IN TRAVEL CHAOS
Only one flight arrived into Melbourne Airport on Monday morning after cancellations sent holiday makers scurrying to find a way back.
Grandmother Susie Stock, 87, and her husband were visiting Sydney for their grandson’s wedding later this week, but were forced to cut the trip short.
They say they’ve been left “devastated” and confused as to what they’re meant to do next.
“I was terrified that I would have to quarantine in a hotel and existed to come back, now I don’t even know if I have to quarantine at home,” Ms Stock said.
“The information is just not available. It’s just unbelievable.”
Ms Stock said they hadn’t been told to isolate, but an information sheet given the passengers told them to monitor symptoms and get tested if they develop.
“I don’t know why they put us through this, it just seems so unnecessary,” she said.
As the NSW coronavirus cluster continues to grow, Victorian residents in NSW “red zones” — which now include the Central Coast north of Sydney — have been given until 11.59pm Monday to return.
NSW residents who live in a so-called red zone, or have visited one since December 11, were banned from entering Victoria as of Sunday night.
Victorians stuck in Sydney’s Northern Beaches “hot zone” must stay there.
About 700 police and SES volunteers will be deployed to border checkpoints.
Victoria has also requested up to 300 Defence personnel, but the Herald Sun understands they are unlikely to be approved, triggering probable delays at checkpoints.
Heavy traffic late on Sunday prompted a warning for motorists in border areas to travel only when necessary.
Motorists heading into Mildura said they were waiting about 15 minutes to pass the checkpoint early on Monday.
Traffic was backed up over the George Chaffey Bridge to the other side of the Murray River, with a queue of about 700m just after 8am.
At least 13 police officers were working at the checkpoint.
Melbourne Airport was also bracing for a rush of passengers flying home and is set up for coronavirus testing.
Victorians returning from the red zones must seek an exemption to return, get a coronavirus test within 24 hours and isolate in their homes for 14 days from the date they were in the area.
Anyone who arrives after midnight must spend 14 days in hotel quarantine.
Authorised officers will check the homes of returned travellers at random and fine anyone not following the rules.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the border closure was “proportionate to a deteriorating set of circumstances”.
“We have taken this step because, as it stands now, the kind of baseline public health measures we have in place in Victoria are in fact stronger than those that are in NSW,” Mr Andrews said.
“I am not going to wait around while they add to their rules. We are going to protect what we have built.”
The Andrews government said it had no confidence the situation was safe while NSW’s Berejiklian government refused to impose mandatory mask wearing and stay-at-home orders across Sydney.
A further 28 community coronavirus transmissions on Sunday were linked to Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
New limits on household gatherings and hospitality venues, and advice to avoid all non-essential activity, is threatening to ruin Christmas for millions of Sydneysiders.
There were now 68 cases linked to the outbreak.
South Australia and Queensland also closed their borders to Sydney residents.
Acting federal Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said if authorities could contain the virus, Victorians should still enjoy a “COVID-safe” Christmas.
“The virus moves with people and so if we can limit the movement of people and limit the mixing of people that have moved, that really assists with decreasing the transmission of the virus,” Mr Kelly said.
Prof Kelly said it was clear the NSW outbreak started with someone who returned from the US but exactly how remained a “missing link”. However, he did not support the mandating of mask use, rebuffing Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.
With Victoria having achieved 51 days without a locally acquired COVID-19 case, Prof Sutton said no chances could be taken once exposure sites were confirmed in Sydney outside the Northern Beaches.
“There is every reason to think there might be cases now emerging outside the protected area,” Prof Sutton said.
“What we see today in Sydney is not what the situation will be like a week from now.
“We know that when there are exposure sites across many areas, with potentially hundreds of exposed individuals, that there will be new cases popping up over the next 14 days.”
Residents of border communities will be allowed to travel between NSW and Victoria using their driver’s licences to verify their addresses.
Freight corridors will continue to operate while XPT train services will now stop at the border.
NSW residents outside the red zones and Northern Beaches must get permits to enter Victoria.
Mr Andrews indicated border closures would remain far longer than Wednesday when NSW’s stay-at-home order for the Northern Beaches was due to expire.
University of South Australia epidemiologist Adrian Esterman backed Victoria’s border measures but said even greater testing precautions could be taken.
“If I was Dan Andrews, I’d have slammed the border shut,” Prof Esterman said.
Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett said of the border closure: “The safer we are, the more normal our Christmas can be here in Melbourne, even if it has upset some plans.”
VICTORIANS STAYING ON SAFE SIDE
Holidays were cut short, Christmas arrangements canned and long traffic delays created as Victoria’s border tightened on Sunday.
Even a dog fled south.
Albury-Wodonga — one of the towns where roadblocks were established — was abuzz as news of the interstate clampdown filtered through.
Rhonda and John Power, of Cohuna in Victoria’s northwest, were visiting their grandchildren in Albury.
But they decided to return a day early, meeting their family for one last barbecue on the banks of the Murray River.
“We came on Friday and were going to stay until Monday, but with everything that’s going on we don’t want to get caught,” Mrs Power said.
“We decided we’d call it quits and go home. You don’t know who’s travelling or anything, whether they got out of Sydney early or not.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry. Nobody wants their Christmas disrupted.”
After a family reunion in the NSW town of Ballina, Portland residents Peter and Ann Lyons were relieved to make it back to Victoria before the border closure.
Mr Lyons, 73, said the potato farming pair had already driven for five hours and faced another six hours on the road to get home.
“We didn’t want to get stuck in NSW,’’ he said.
“We’re definitely happy we made it down before they closed it all up again.”
Dog breeder Iain Bradbeer went from Melbourne to Albury on Sunday to collect pooch Bonnie from NSW friends.
The 47-year-old from Surrey Hills, who breeds wheaten terriers, said he was driving straight home after the brief visit.
“I left Melbourne early because I didn’t want to take any chances. I got the permit organised last night, jumped in the car and drove,” he said.
“Six months ago I bred another dog for this family and they had to quarantine for two weeks because they crossed the border into Victoria (to meet me), so we didn’t want a situation like that to happen again.”
Despite the frantic rush into Victoria, residents in border towns were relieved they’d be able to use their driver’s licences to travel between Victoria and NSW.
Wassim Saliba, who owns Wodonga restaurant La Maison, said it was a welcome change from the strict border restrictions during Victoria’s second lockdown.
“That is great news,’’ he said. “Obviously they need to control it and if this is the process they’re taking, I feel like we’re not going to lose out on that much business,” he said.
FRONTLINE HEROES CELEBRATE END OF THE YEAR
After a tumultuous year fighting on the COVID frontline, staff at The Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne are celebrating making it to the end of the year.
Laura Bignell, the hospital’s chief midwifery and nursing officer, said she was extremely proud of staff who had gone above and beyond in the toughest of circumstances.
“They have been flexible and adaptable and incredibly resilient throughout all of this and have never shied away from putting patients at the heart of what they do,” Ms Bignell said.
“2020 has been an extraordinary year and I guess in the ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ it makes it really relevant to celebrate the work they do every day.”
She said staff — pictured above in Christmas scrubs and cheerful outfits — were looking forward to the festive season and the year ahead.
“In 2021, like our staff always do, we’re looking to continue to providing exceptional care for women and babies and their families,” Ms Bignell said.
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