Overview
If you're a Queenslander with a trip to Adelaide in your future — or vice versa — this chaotic year has just interrupted your plans. With 17 COVID-19 cases identified in the South Australian capital in the past 24 hours as part of a new cluster, the Sunshine State has declared the area a coronavirus hotspot. And, as a result, Queensland is closing its borders to the SA city.
Today, Monday, November 16, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that folks from Adelaide will no longer be permitted into Queensland from 11.59pm this evening — unless they receive an exemption and then go into quarantine for 14 days. That puts the SA city in the same situation as the entirety of Victoria and all local government areas in Sydney.
Noting that some folks from Adelaide will already be in Queensland — and some Queenslanders who've visited the city and then returned home recently, too — the State Government is also asking anyone who has been to Adelaide in the past seven days to get tested immediately. And, they're being asked to go into self-isolation for 14 days as well, regardless of whether they're showing any symptoms.
Not only is the growing size of the new Adelaide cluster of concern to Queensland's powers that be — expanding from four cases yesterday — but also the fact that it involves community transmission. Announcing the changes, Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said "that's a very rapid increase of cases, from four to 17, and some of those cases have been in very complex situations".
Queensland will still move forward with its next stage of eased local restrictions, including relaxing caps on at-home gatherings, venue limits and public events — which are due to come into effect at 4pm on Tuesday, November 17.
As always, the usual rules regarding hygiene, social distancing and getting tested if you display any possible COVID-19 symptoms all still apply throughout the state — as restrictions keep easing, and with the new border restrictions with SA.
Queensland joins Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory in introducing new requirements for SA residents, or those who've visited the state. In WA and Tassie's case, both states had only just started reopening to folks from the rest of the country over the past few weeks. Victoria has also declared SA a hotspot, but isn't shutting its border — while New South Wales premier Glady Berejiklian has said that her state won't be closing to SA.
For more information about southeast Queensland's COVID-19 border restrictions, or about the status of COVID-19 in the state, visit the Qld COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website.