Queensland extends border ban to Greater Sydney

Queensland has extended its border ban to include large parts of New South Wales, throwing school holiday plans into chaos.

In line with New South Wales’ introducing local restrictions for Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour, Queensland will declare the Local Government Areas within these regions as hotspots from 1:00am tomorrow, Thursday 24 June 2021.

From 1:00am tomorrow, anyone who has been in any of these LGAs will not be allowed to enter Queensland unless they are a returning Queensland resident, except for a limited range of people who can enter for an essential purpose. Those who can enter Queensland will need to complete 14 days quarantine in government arranged accommodation.

It comes as an extension to Wednesday morning’s announcement of six Sydney suburbs being declared hotspots.

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said Queensland was taking a cautious approach as new positive cases emerged in NSW.

“I know this is a difficult time, but my priority is always the health and safety of Queenslanders,” Dr Young said.

“The sharp rise of cases in Sydney today is extremely concerning due to many of these cases being infected by fleeting contact.

“The Delta variant is much more contagious than other variants and we do not want it circulating in Queensland.”

The hotspot declaration will not be backdated. It will apply to anyone that has been in the hotspot locations on or after 1am 24 June 2021.

Queenslanders are being warned not to travel to Greater Sydney and surrounding regions at this time.

Dr Young said it’s vital anyone who has travelled from New South Wales recently continues to check the contact tracing locations.

“Locations are being added multiple times throughout the day, so it’s absolutely vital people keep checking that list,” Dr Young said.

“If you have been to any of the exposure sites at the specified times, you must follow the specified health advice.”