Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced Queensland will open its border to Sydney on February 1.
Queensland closed the border to 35 local government areas in Sydney, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains in the midst of December’s COVID-19 outbreak, causing chaos for travellers before Christmas.
The announcement means residents from NSW will not need to apply for a border declaration pass from Monday,
Ms Palaszczuk said she was delighted to be given the public health advice to support the policy change from the state’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, last night.
“It is great news. I know it’s been very tough on families, especially with the closure of the Greater Sydney area. Now’s the time for families and friends to be reunited.”
She said NSW residents in the state’s quarantine system will be released from February 1.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she welcomes the decision.
27 Jan 2021: NSW eases COVID-19 restrictions after run of zero cases
“Fantastic, good news and I hope that means a lot of families that were hoping to get together over Christmas and New Year’s and couldn’t, can reunite now,” she said, speaking on Radio 2GB’s Ben Fordham Live program.
NSW has recorded 10 consecutive days with no local transmission of COVID-19.
Greater Sydney will on Friday ease restrictions on mask wearing as well as the number of visitors allowed in homes and at other gatherings and functions.
Ms Berejiklian announced the new rules on Wednesday and flagged a further easing of restrictions in a fortnight.
Ms Palaszczuk said authorities are prepared to shut down the borders if necessary to contain any future outbreaks of COVID-19 overseas variants.
“We have to be vigilant at the moment, in terms of the UK variant of COVID. We are very concerned about that.
“I think you will see a lot more of a collective response from premiers and chief ministers to try to get this right. As we’ve seen, the hotspot program has been working quite well.”
Ms Palaszczuk said she was still putting together a proposal to shift city hotel quarantine to regional camps with two options being explored.
“These (camps) are like four star, they’re not like two star, and they’re very well ventilated and there’s lots of room to move and everything, and then you have all your workers on site as well, there’s less risk,” she said.
“Our quarantine is our last line of defence, and if that UK strain gets out now in our community, I am really really concerned what that will do to our economy.
“It could decimate our economy, not for weeks, but for months so I think we all need to be on our guard.”
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your jurisdiction’s restrictions on gathering limits. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080. News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus.
Please check the relevant guidelines for your state or territory: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, ACT, Tasmania.
