NSW Now Requires Anyone Who Has Been in Greater Brisbane Since January 2 to Isolate

If you hoped that 2021 might see an end to border restrictions and lockdowns, the first few days of January — and the end of December 2020, too — have sadly scuppered that kind of thinking. Today, Friday, January 8, it was announced that the Greater Brisbane area in Queensland will be going into a three-day lockdown in response to the latest local case of COVID-19 in Brisbane, in a hotel quarantine worker. And that now has implications for folks in New South Wales who've been in Greater Brisbane recently.

NSW isn't closing its border to Queensland, or to the Greater Brisbane area. But at the daily NSW press conference on Friday, January 8, Acting Premier John Barilaro announced new requirements for anyone in NSW who has been to Greater Brisbane — which includes the Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands local government areas — since 12.01am on Saturday, January 2. If you fall into that category, you're required to isolate under the same conditions that'd be in place if you were still in Greater Brisbane.

Accordingly, from 6pm AEST/7pm AEDT on Friday, January 8 until 6pm AEST/7pm AEDT on Monday, January 11, anyone who has been in Greater Brisbane since 12.01am on Saturday, January 2 are required to stay at home. The rules in place are the same as during March's lockdown — which means that you're only allowed to leave the house for four reasons. So, you can only head out for work or education if you can't do that at home, for essential shopping, for exercise in your local area, and for health care or to provide support for a vulnerable person.

While Queensland has had community cases of the coronavirus before — including back in July and August, when restrictions were tightened only weeks after they had been relaxed from the first lockdown — the state is being particularly cautious in the current instance because it involves the new, more contagious UK strain of COVID-19. That's why NSW has also taken action, and is applying stay-at-home conditions to anyone who has departed, left, worked or been in those Greater Brisbane areas.

Unsurprisingly, Minister for Health Brad Hazzard also advised that "if you don't have to come [to NSW] from Brisbane, don't come in the next few days". He continued: "if you really need to, comply with the moments your government has placed on new in Brisbane but comply with them here in New South Wales".

The news comes as NSW reported 11 new cases over the past 24 hours, including four new local cases and seven acquired from overseas.

Sydneysiders are also asked to continue to frequently check NSW Health's long list of locations and venues that positive coronavirus cases have visited over the past week — and, if you've been to anywhere listed on the specific dates and times, get tested immediately and self-isolate. You can also have a look at the venue alerts over at this new interactive map.

For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.