Queensland border won't close again 'unless whole of NSW is in lockdown'

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has ruled out re-enacting Queensland's state-wide border closure to New South Wales after a Sydney hotel quarantine worker contracted coronavirus.

The Premier issued a message of calm this morning on Today, claiming there was "no need for concern" just yet.

"I don't think we should be too concerned at this stage," she said, urging everyone to go ahead with their holiday plans.

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"We're monitoring it closely and if anything changes, we will let people know."

The comments come after it was revealed yesterday that a cleaner who worked at two Sydney quarantine hotels had tested positive to coronavirus.

The female worker in her 60s was cleaning at both the Novotel and the Ibis in Darling Harbour between 27 and 30 November while infectious.

There are concerns thousands could have been exposed, as the woman caught a train from Minto in Sydney's west to Central Station and then the light rail to Darling Harbour for her shifts.

It is the first instance of community transmission of COVID-19 in 25 days.

In an apparent departure from her previous tough stance, the Queensland premier said the time for state-wide border closures had most likely passed.

"There would have to be a very, very, very large outbreak… unless all of NSW went into a lockdown, we would not close the border at this stage," she said.

Instead, from December Queensland will use hotspots to determine any future border restrictions.



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