Queensland shuts its border to Sydney residents after two teenagers infected with coronavirus LIED on travel forms
QUEENSLAND will ban Sydney residents from entering the state after two girls who were infected with coronavirus reportedly LIED on their travel documents.
Greater Sydney, the area surrounding the New South Wales city, will officially become a Covid-19 hotspot from 1am on Saturday, according to Queensland's Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
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Under the strict rules, no one from Sydney will be allowed to enter the state and Queenslanders will have to isolate in their hotel for 14 days.
"We are monitoring the situation in New South Wales every single day," the Queensland Premier said.
"We do not want a second wave here. We do not want widespread community transition," she said.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejklian was not informed of the border restrictions ahead of Ms Palaszczuk's announcement , report .
Two women, 19, who were infected with coronavirus, flew from Melbourne to Brisbane via Sydney on July 21 and reportedly lied on their travel forms.
Queensland Health are in the process of identifying people on their flights, according to reports.
The pair did not immediately quarantine and had reportedly been in the community for eight days, visiting shopping centres, restaurants and a church in Brisbane's South Metro region.
The teens were blasted by Queensland's Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young.
"I'm very, very disappointed. I think it was reckless," she told reporters on Wednesday.
"They've been out and about for eight days with symptoms."
Ms Young urged people to tell the truth on their border declaration forms.
"We need people to tell the truth. That's all I can say. This has been done to protect yourself as an individual, your family and the community," she said.
The pair did not self-isolate despite the rule that people from Queensland who visited Victoria in the past 14 days must quarantine themselves.
A criminal investigation is underway regarding whether the women lied on their travel form about where they had been before they entered Queensland.
The furious Queensland Premier said the next two days would be critical for the state.
"The next 24 to 48 hours is very crucial here in Queensland," she said.
'We need to be making sure that any of those people who may have come into contact with the two confirmed cases need to go into quarantine and also need to be tested."
Queensland closed its borders to all people from Victoria on July 10 after a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the southern state.
There are more than 70 declared hotspots where residents from Victoria are banned from entering Queensland, report the
State Disaster Co-ordinator and Deputy Commissioner said the women should have been in quarantine.
"At this stage, the initial investigations indicate there are incorrect details on border declaration passes... the investigation will look at whether that was deliberate or otherwise," he said.
The women could face a hefty fine or even a jail sentence.
Anyone providing false declaration on a Queensland Border Declaration form faces a fine of $4,004 or a court-imposed penalty of $13,345 and jail, according to
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figures show that Queensland reported three new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number to at least 1,079.
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Victoria recorded at least 384 new infections between Tuesday and Wednesday's daily briefings, recording six deaths.
The state of New South Wales has reportedly seen more than 150 new cases in the past fortnight, which has led to the state government urging residents to travel to Victoria.
