The Queensland government will keep the NSW border open amid optimism that Greater Sydney’s lockdown is containing the city’s COVID-19 outbreak.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles says authorities are closely monitoring the situation, but there’s no evidence of virus cases or positive sewage testing results north of Sydney.
He’s hopeful the lockdown is containing the virus in Greater Sydney and a hard border won’t be have to be imposed.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation in NSW. Pleasingly the ongoing monitoring of sewage indicates that the outbreak there is largely contained to Greater Sydney, meaning that the restrictions in place in Greater Sydney may mean that we don’t yet need to put in place greater border restrictions here,” he said on Wednesday 14 July.
Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia have already closed their borders to NSW, but Queensland is only restricting entry for travellers from Greater Sydney while keeping the NSW border open.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been urging residents in regional NSW to come home for days.
“If it gets to the stage that we have to close we will,” she told reporters on Tuesday 13 July.
Five new COVID-19 cases were recorded in hotel quarantine in Queensland on Wednesday, but no further cases emerged in the community after two local cases were recorded on Tuesday.
Initially Ms Palaszczuk said the cases were of no concern, but Queensland Health later issued an alert after finding out one had been infectious longer than first thought.
New exposure sites have been listed in Noosa, Kenilworth, Eumundi and Sunshine Beach, including a newsagency, cafe, pharmacy, liquor store and a bakery visited at various times between June 28 and July 1.
Anyone who visited the venues at the times listed on the Queensland Health website is advised to get tested immediately and self-quarantine until a negative result is received.
AAP
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