Any NSW residents hoping to travel to Victoria for Christmas won’t be able to do so without a permit after a mystery cluster in Sydney’s northern beaches grew to 28 cases.
From midnight on Friday, anyone travelling to Victoria from the northern beaches will not be able to enter the state – while all other residents will need to apply for permission.
Travel permits will be issued on a “traffic light system”, Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said on Friday.
Under the system, the northern beaches region will be designated a “red zone”, greater Sydney an “amber zone” and the rest of the state a “green zone”.
People travelling from “amber zones” will be expected to undertake a COVID-19 test on arrival and self-isolate until a result is returned.
“Essentially if you’re in the Northern Beaches LGA, or been directly exposed to any number of the other high-risk sites identified by the NSW government, you will not be issued a permit,” he said.
Mr Foley also warned Victorian residents against travelling to Sydney, flagging further border restrictions could be imposed and that people returning to Victoria may be required to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine.
“Don’t come from Sydney if you’re planning to come to Melbourne. Don’t go to Sydney if you’re planning to go to Sydney,” he said.
“It won’t be a holiday. It won’t be a Christmas. It won’t be the Christmas or the holiday you were planning.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday warned that all residents of greater Sydney needed to be on high alert after the northern beaches cluster grew by 10 cases overnight.
Some of the confirmed cases were not residents of the northern beaches, she said, which meant there was a possibility of virus spread across the wider Sydney region.
“Everybody in greater Sydney needs to be on high alert,” she said. “I know that there are a lot of Christmas parties on at this time, a lot of social gatherings. Please consider what is essential.”
It was also revealed that one of the cases linked to the cluster had travelled to Queensland after becoming infected.
Victorian contract tracing chief Jeroen Weimar said one person in Victoria had been identified as a close contact of a case linked to the northern beaches cluster and was now in quarantine.
“They have not had any symptoms. They have not tested positive to date” he said.
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.
