The Queensland border has officially closed to all of Greater Sydney, with the State Government declaring the area a COVID-hotspot.
QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement much to the surprise of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who says she was not warned about the restrictions.
Queensland border has closed off to “COVID hotspot” Greater Sydney as NSW gyms are placed under tighter restrictions.
“There has been more outbreaks in other parts of Great Sydney and that will now become a COIVD declared hotspot taking effect from 1 am on Saturday,” Ms Palaszczuk noted in a press conference.
“We have done this to ensure we give notice to Queenslanders who may want to return home. We are in extraordinary times at the moment and we have to do everything we can. Queenslanders should not be travelling to Sydney.”
The news comes after two teenagers allegedly lied about travelling from Melbourne upon their entry into the state. Spoiler alert, both women ended up testing positive for coronavirus. They now face hefty fines after it was revealed they visited restaurants, shopping centres, and a church over the proceeding eight days.
Anastasia has tried to work with NSW
Tried to reduce wait times at the border while making life easier for nswers living on the qld border
nsw wouldn’t come to the table.
Gladys with LNP Qld and fed gov pressured qld to open the border
Why should Qld play nice now?
— mask wash hands socially distance fight covid. (@ForgotBeauty) July 29, 2020
Greater Sydney includes 34 local government areas with Liverpool, Campbelltown, and Fairfield all declared hotspots for the virus. While 19 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in New South Wales overnight, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian claims she had no warning of the restrictions.
“It would have been nice if she told me but that’s fine,” she announced to press. “I note that the cases they have had up there announced today are all from Victoria.”
Ms Berejiklian continued, “In the end, it hurts the smaller states when they don’t interact with New South Wales.” While Ms Berejiklian may not be impressed with the announcement, the news comes as NSW further impose restrictions on gyms.
Gyms across NSW will need to register a COVID-safe plan, ensure a dedicated hygiene marshal is on-site to provide equipment cleaning, and monitor social distancing and hand sanitiser availability. The plan included 24/7 gyms that would otherwise be unstaffed during certain hours of the day.
‘Would have been nice if she told me’: NSW Premier blindsided by Queensland border ban https://t.co/wm16tRiOLR
— ABC News (@abcnews) July 29, 2020
