Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared the entire state of NSW and the ACT as COVID-19 hotspots, despite the ACT currently having no active COVID-19 cases.
In a press conference held just minutes ago, Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland borders would be closed to anyone from NSW and ACT from 1am Saturday August 8.
“We’ve seen that Victoria is not getting better and we’re not going to wait for NSW to get worse,” the Premier said.
“This is the right thing to do. I know it’s going to be tough on Queenslanders but your health comes first and we need to protect your health and our economy.”
She said the border closure announcement followed a meeting of the Queensland Disaster Management Group yesterday and again this morning.
“We need Queenslanders supporting Queenslanders.”
“Now is not the time to travel to NSW. Now is not the time to travel to Victoria.”
“I said I would not hesitate and today is the day.”
“We have listened to you and we are concerned about what’s happening in the southern states and today we are putting Queenslanders first.”
She said the tough border measures applied to both NSW and ACT due to the actions of one person who travelled to Queensland via the ACT.
