Premier announces end of border restrictions

Border restrictions will end on Saturday at 1 am, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced in a press conference this morning.

By Dominique Tassell

Border restrictions will end on Saturday at 1 am, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced in a press conference this morning.

Domestic travellers will no longer have to provide a negative Covid-19 test or fill out a border pass in order to enter the state.

It was previously stated that these requirements would be lifted when the state hit 90 per cent of residents 16 and over being double vaccinated.

Currently, 91.33 per cent of Queenslanders have had their first dose of the vaccine, with 88.18 per cent receiving their second dose.

“Now is the time for the barricades to come down, and for the police to come home, to continue on their normal operational duties on the front lines,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“The time is now right as we head towards hitting that 90 per cent next week.”

Chief Health Office John Gerrard said the domestic border restrictions had served their purpose, which was to allow Queenslanders time to access the vaccine.

“Now the virus, as always was expected, is spreading through Queensland, but with a vaccinated population,” he said.

International restrictions will still apply until the state hits the 90 per cent vaccination target.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the government had chosen to wait because “international arrivals are the ones who are going to bring in new variants”.

“We do still have to look very carefully at international arrivals, and particularly unvaccinated international arrivals.”

Ms D’Ath emphasised that they are focussing now on where unvaccinated people can go.

She stated social restrictions will not change when the state reaches the 90 per cent target.

Ms D’Ath also criticised the Nurses Professional Association of Queensland (NPAQ) for sharing a Sky News article containing information she stated was “not correct”.

The article claimed that the government had decided to allow unvaccinated health workers to return to work.

“We are not planning, nor are we welcoming back unvaccinated health workers into the health system at all,” Ms D’Ath said.

The Southern Downs recorded 19 cases today, a significantly lower number than yesterday’s 111 cases.

16 of these cases are under investigation, bringing the total number of cases under investigation to 394.

Ms Palaszczuk stated that 556 people in Queensland are being treated for their symptoms in the hospital. Of those people, 26 are in intensive care units and ten people are on ventilators.

Of the 14,914 new cases recorded in the latest reporting period, 2,812 were positive cases confirmed by at-home rapid antigen test.