Queensland has shut its border with NSW after Sydneysiders were caught trying to get into the state illegally.
Three weeks after welcoming southerners back into the Sunshine State, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the border would be closed again from 6am Tuesday.
It came after people were caught trying to sneak into Queensland without quarantining.
The hard border closure means entry points into Queensland will be policed again and drivers will have to declare their border passes.
“There will be a hard border closure that will be going in place,” Ms Palaszczuk said on Monday.
“People will start to see barricades going up again this afternoon and it will be back to the strong border measures that we have seen in Queensland that have kept Queenslanders safe.”
On the Sunshine Coast, Sydney visitors flying into the airport were opting to jet back home rather than enter hotel quarantine.
Superintendent Craig Hawkins said a police contingent was set up at Sunshine Coast Airport as part of the border measures and about 100 people, predominantly returning residents, had landed and headed into mandatory home quarantine.
Supt Hawkins, the region’s District Officer, said non-residents were given the choice of government-approved hotel quarantine or returning interstate and five passengers had opted to fly home.
“There was about 100 people from three flights and we have two more flights to come in today,” he said at 3pm Monday.
Cases in Sydney climbed by 15 on Monday to hit 83 linked to the cluster and holiday plans have been thrown into chaos.
Many from the Sunshine Coast, who are originally from NSW and often reunite with family for the festive season either in Sydney or here, are affected with loved ones unable to travel either way without serious consequences.
Queenslanders in the NSW capital have been given until 1am on Tuesday to get home, but they will need to be tested for COVID-19 and go into self-isolation on arrival.
Greater Sydney residents already in Queensland before the quarantine cut off have been ordered to self-isolate and get tested as well.
Earlier
Sydney is now a declared hotspot as far as Queensland is concerned and authorities say there will be a renewed focus on COVID-safe behaviour to ensure we stay safe from the coronavirus pandemic.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the situation in New South Wales continued to escalate and as a result, border restrictions were being ramped up to protect Queenslanders.
“In addition, we will make sure Queensland businesses do not let up in their measures against the virus, and that all venues move to electronic registration of patrons,” the Premier said.
“We remain in a health emergency that was declared at the end of January, and we must stay vigilant.”
The hotspot will match the area nominated by New South Wales: the Greater Sydney region and the Central Coast, Illawarra-Shoalhaven, and Nepean Blue Mountains.
Non-Queensland residents from the hotspot are not permitted as at 1am Monday.
Queensland residents returning from Greater Sydney now have 24 hours to get a border pass, return to their residence in Queensland, get tested and quarantine at home for 14 days from when they left the hotspot.
From 1am Tuesday, Queenslanders returning from Greater Sydney will be required to get a border pass to enter Queensland and undertake 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine.
Anyone already in Queensland who has been in Greater Sydney since 11 December should get tested and home quarantine until they get their result.
The Premier strongly urged everyone in Queensland to get back to their COVID-safe basics.
“It’s vitally important that everyone follows the hygiene and social distancing advice in all situations, day in and day out, and get tested if they feel at all unwell with COVID-19 symptoms,” she said.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the extra measures were to protect the health of Queenslanders.
“Police are already undertaking random spot checks on the roads, but border checkpoints will be put in place over the next 24 to 48 hours,” Mr Miles said.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath asked Queensland businesses and patrons to seriously address existing health requirements, especially social distancing, hand hygiene and contact tracing.
“To ensure everyone is doing their part, I am calling on all Queensland businesses to step up their vigilance in following the health advice, particularly around check-in processes and patron limits,” she said.
“Paper registration of customers is not sufficient – we are now asking you to take details electronically, and we will begin to enforce that in 72 hours from now.”
Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the checkpoints would be set up as soon as possible.
“So anyone that’s in Sydney now thinking ‘I can drive through to Queensland and slip through’, they will probably find a checkpoint by the time they get here,” he warned.
Commissioner Gollschewski said home quarantine orders would also be strictly enforced, with a northern beaches resident and an international flight crew member recently fined for breaches.
“A compliance blitz in the coming days will include spot-checks and inspections as an additional safeguard for the community.
“We cannot wait until positive cases are in the community again before we act – COVID-19 is just as contagious as it was earlier in the year, even though our restrictions.”
