Coronavirus: States set to slam borders as virus spreads
NSW is fighting to contain the spread of the northern beaches coronavirus outbreak across Sydney as premiers of other states eye tougher restrictions.
NSW is fighting to contain the apparent spread of the northern beaches coronavirus outbreak across Sydney as premiers of other states eye tougher travel restrictions that could further disrupt Christmas travel plans.
Thousands of people are facing Christmas in isolation after states reimposed travel restrictions on Sydneysiders — with Western Australia enforcing a mandatory fortnight quarantine — to prevent the cluster spreading further.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that the government would reimpose restrictions on parts of Sydney should containment efforts fail.
Infections linked to the cluster on the city’s northern beaches stood at 29 on Friday and were expected to rise on the weekend.
There was at least one case on the state’s central coast diagnosed late on Friday.
As holidaymakers flooded airports, bringing forward Christmas travel plans to pre-empt interstate restrictions, Scott Morrison called for calm and said he had “great confidence” in health officials.
“I understand that there’s some uncertainty and some anxiety at this very moment but as we’ve seen in the past, as we saw in South Australia, as we’ve seen in NSW on multiple occasions now, they’ll work through it,” the Prime Minister said.
WA Premier Mark McGowan said the outbreak “may well mean that the hard border with NSW needs to return in the near future”. Travellers from the state are now required to isolate for 14 days regardless of whether they returned a negative coronavirus test result.
“Whilst that might be upsetting for people, we’ll do what we have to do to keep having a great record in WA and keep the health and welfare of West Australians paramount,” Mr McGowan said. “I’m very sympathetic to people who want to visit family and catch up with parents and children over the course of the Christmas period.”
Travellers from Sydney’s northern beaches have also been barred from entering Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania. Anyone who has visited the area since December 11 and has already arrived in the latter two states will be forced to quarantine for 14 days.
The spread of coronavirus around Sydney and the threat of further border restrictions sent travellers rushing to move flights and cancel holiday bookings. Sydney airport was flooded with uncertain travellers on Friday, while Qantas and Virgin Australia struggled to deal with a high number of inquiries from passengers asking to change their bookings.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews advised residents of his state “not to travel to Sydney”. “The situation up there is expected to get worse over the coming days and the (restricted) zone is likely to grow,” he said. “That means we cannot guarantee you’ll be able to come back.
“In such a hard year, so many of us have been counting down until we get to see those we’ve missed so much. But no family gathering is worth more than someone’s life.”
The Victorian government was understood to be considering the possible total closure of the state’s border with NSW — including rolling out police checkpoints.
There was concern within the Andrews government that the number of cases would rise rapidly, the Herald Sun reported.
NSW Health was scrambling on Friday to determine how COVID-19 arrived in Avalon, on the northern beaches, from where it spread to other parts of Sydney.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said genomic sequencing indicated the strain was from the US.
“We are at the moment looking for where that potentially could have matched,” Dr Chant said.
“It is similar to a strain we have seen in a returned traveller (from) early December. This is a person who was in hotel quarantine. It’s similar, but it doesn’t allow us to confirm that person is the source.”
Contact tracers had identified a multitude of infected patients but lacked the “missing links” that could lead them to the source of the virus, Dr Chant said.
NSW Health warned visitors to cafes and restaurants in Rosebery, Woolloomooloo and Darling Point, at Westfield Bondi Junction, and to a number of locations in Cronulla to get tested for the coronavirus immediately and isolate until a negative result.
Visitors to two salons — Hair by Erika in Lane Cove on December 11 and Salon of Hair in Turramurra on December 15 — should get tested and isolate for a fortnight regardless of the result.
The new warnings mean the coronavirus cluster may have reached the city’s far south, as well as several inner-city suburbs and parts of the densely populated eastern suburbs.
Ms Berejiklian said the weekend was crucial to stop the spread, but did not rule out further restrictions on the northern beaches where the majority of pubs and clubs have voluntarily stopped trading. All 21 beaches from Palm Beach to Manly are closed until at least Monday.
“If we get on top of this in the next two or three days, all of us will be able to have a much better Christmas, but if we don’t get on top of it in the next few days, it could mean further restrictions down the track,” she said.
NSW officials said Avalon RSL and the Avalon Bowling Club were likely where the northern beaches cluster had spread from, with eight people infected attending the former on December 11 and 16 people attending the latter venue on December 13. Two people were identified as having attended both venues on those dates. One attendee at the RSL club later travelled to Queensland by air, prompting fears that she might have spread the virus interstate.
She was subsequently contacted by NSW Health and drove back to Sydney, having tested positive for COVID-19.
For now, the northern beaches remain the only region in Sydney under voluntary lockdown, with 270,000 residents urged to limit their time outdoors and wear masks except at home.
All other Sydneysiders have been urged not to travel to the northern beaches.
Ms Berejiklian stopped short of mandating new restrictions and urged other premiers to implement “measured” and “proportionate” responses.
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