Queensland won't declare Melbourne a coronavirus hotspot but border passes will be reinstated after eight COVID-19 cases were linked to the Holiday Inn.
Announcing the move, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said it's "too early" to declare a COVID-19 hotspot, with the eight cases detected so far all directly tied to a single floor of the Holiday Inn. Another two cases were identified this afternoon.
Travellers entering Queensland from Melbourne are already required to get a COVID-19 test and isolate until they receive their result.
LIVE UPDATES: Travellers from Melbourne turned away at Adelaide amid virus outbreak
"It appears to me that Victoria is doing a very good job in responding," Mr Miles said.
He said stricter border controls weren't yet necessary because "all of those cases at this stage were contracted within the hotel quarantine on level three, so there's no cases of community transmission outside of that location".
However, from 1am on Saturday, anyone travelling into the Sunshine State will need to fill out a border declaration.
"That will allow us to check whether they have been in any of the locations that have been identified by the Victorian contact tracers, whether they are required to get tested, and to notify them that that is the case, and require that they isolate," Mr Miles said.
READ MORE: No further coronavirus cases linked to Melbourne's Holiday Inn outbreak
He also said it would provide details for contact tracers in the future, should the situation in Melbourne deteriorate further.
Mr Miles urged all travellers to comply with the new measure, warning "the stakes are high".
Anyone found to have lied on their border declaration form faces a fine of more than $4000.
It comes as Queensland records one new COVID-19 case in hotel quarantine, with no cases found in the community.
Only one traveller has so far entered Queensland from the Holiday Inn in Melbourne – the hotel at the centre of the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
That person has returned a negative COVID-19 test result and remains in quarantine in Queensland.
Anyone who stayed at or visited the Holiday Inn since January 27 has been declared a close contact of the outbreak.
Queensland's Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Sonia Bennett said health authorities would be closing watching the potential community transmission sites in Melbourne for signs of spread outside the hotel in the coming days.
However, she said it was "reassuring" that family members and other close contacts of the eight positive cases had so far tested negative.
from 9News https://ift.tt/2Z2sLRL
via IFTTT
0 Comments