From 1am on Thursday, Queenslanders returning home from City of Sydney, Waverley, Randwick, Canada Bay, Inner West, Bayside, and Woollahra will have to go into a mandatory 14 days of hotel quarantine. Residents of those local government areas will not be able to enter Queensland unless they have an exemption. Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland couldn’t afford to have Covid-19 infiltrate the state, as further restrictions will ease on Friday, and has urged Queenslanders to reconsider any travel to Greater Sydney and Wollongong.“We know this Delta variant is much more infectious than other variants and we have serious concerns. So to keep Queenslanders safe, we will be following exactly what Victoria has announced last night,” she said.“We haven’t heard the update from NSW today, so people should be prepared that if there is further spread in NSW, this advice may have to be updated during the course of the day or into the evening. “We want everyone to be safe, and we wish NSW the very best in getting on top of this particular variant … We’re going well here in Queensland and we want to continue to keep Queenslanders safe.”Police will step up patrols as Queensland slams its border shut to seven Sydney LGAs. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Steve HollandChief health officer Jeannette Young said the Delta variant spreading throughout Sydney was of major concern, as more than 120 exposure venues were now listed throughout the city.“If you remember at the start of this pandemic, I spoke about 15 minutes of close contact being a concern,” she said. “Now, it looks like it’s 5-10 seconds that’s a concern. “So it’s just the risk is so much higher now than it was only a year ago.”Sydney Covid Cluster Surges 22/06/21Queensland Police will be upping their random patrols.“There will be increased police patrols and we spoke to the Police Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner about our borders and there will be a lot more random intercepts as well,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “Please, if you’re from those areas, please do the right thing and stay at home, and we’d love to welcome you back to Queensland at a further date.”The Sunshine State recorded no new local cases of Covid-19, but health authorities continue to mount pressure on the federal government to find a better solution for hotel quarantine. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Ms Palaszczuk confirmed the Delta variant had spread throughout a floor at the Novotel.The lack of new community cases comes as a relief after a flight attendant contracted the virus while in hotel quarantine on the weekend. She had tested negative three times while in quarantine after arriving from Portugal but returned a positive test after her release when tested again as part of her employer’s testing regimen.She spent four hours in the community while infectious. Queensland chief health officer has strongly urged Queenslanders not to travel to Sydney or Wollongong. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan PeledVictoria closes border to SydneyVictoria has slammed its border shut to the same seven local government areas at 1am on Wednesday, after they were declared “red zones” under the state’s travel permit system. Victorian residents who have travelled within one of those red zones (other than for transit) can obtain a permit to re-enter the state but they must quarantine at home for 14 days. Non-Victorian residents who have been within a red zone, other than for transit, cannot enter Victoria. “If you try to enter Victoria at a land border from a red zone without a permit, you will be sent back,” a statement from Victoria’s health department said. “If you enter at an airport or seaport from a red zone without a permit, you will be fined and will stay in hotel quarantine until return transport is arranged.”Chief health officer Brett Sutton “strongly discouraged” non-essential travel into Victoria. Victoria has also listed the city of Wollongong, south of Sydney, as an “orange zone” as of 1am Wednesday. If you’ve been in an orange zone – or in a previously-designated orange zone before it became a red zone – you need an orange zone permit to enter Victoria, health officials said. Orange zone permit holders must isolate on arrival, get tested, and stay isolated until they get a negative result.
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