Coronavirus: Queensland to go it alone with hotel exemption to be scrapped

Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queensland will scrap a hotel quarantine exemption used by an ­embassy security guard.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in Brisbane on Tuesday. Picture: Annette Dew

Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queensland will “go it alone” and scrap a hotel quarantine exemption used by an ­embassy security guard who landed in Sydney and travelled directly to Queensland where he is isolating at home with COVID-19.

Police are investigating the validity of documents and ­whether he had legitimate cause to be given the diplomatic exemption by the NSW and Queensland health departments.

Prior to leaving Afghanistan, the man had supplied a letter to both departments, written on Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade letterhead, vouching for his role at the embassy and ­declaring he had a diplomatic passport. In a document seen by The Australian, NSW Health ­approved his exemption on that basis.

Queensland Chief Health ­Officer Jeannette Young also ­approved the exemption, allowing the man to fly to the Sunshine Coast and quarantine at his home in Toowoomba, instead of in a hotel. The Premier had said the “loophole” should be closed and she planned to raise it at a nat­ional cabinet meeting on Friday.

But on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Palaszczuk said she could not wait until then. “Once again, Queensland will go it alone to protect Queenslanders,” she said.

Dr Young said she would act immediately to ensure exemptions to hotel quarantine would only be granted on “extremely extenuating circumstances”.

“This exemption is a problem,” she said. “We can no longer allow this. With the high cases overseas, the risk is simply too high.”

Health authorities were on Tuesday still trying to contact two people who were on the same flight as the embassy ­security guard — a 49-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman — who had not responded to emails, phone calls and text messages from health officers.

“It’s crucial that we find these passengers and make sure they are not infected,” Dr Young said.

In a statement, a Jetstar spokesman said the company had provided Queensland Health with a manifest showing all passengers and contact details within an hour of it being ­requested on Saturday evening.

Queensland Health said some of the information supplied provided contact details for travels agents and called on the federal government to “ensure information available to contact tracers is both accurate and useful”.

The state is also awaiting the results of three men who arrived in Brisbane on Sunday after a trip to Melbourne. It is believed one is showing COVID-19 symptoms.

All three were issued a notice to appear in court after they allegedly gave police false border declarations.