Queensland will open its borders to fully vaccinated travellers from interstate hotspots on 1:00 am, Monday, December 13, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced.
At the time of writing, 78.6 % of Queenslanders over the age of 16 are fully vaccinated, with the state is opening up to hotspots ahead of the scheduled December 17 date.
From next Monday, double-dosed travellers from hotspots – including New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia – will be able to arrive in Queensland via road or air.
No quarantine will be required for the fully vaccinated, though travellers will need a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours before arrival.
Anyone who is not fully vaccinated will need to arrive by air and undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine.
The state will also require visitors to have been double dosed for at least two weeks to be considered fully vaccinated.
“The national guidelines say one week is enough, so we will adopt the national guidelines,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
The state will now also require travellers from domestic hotspots to get a COVID-19 test five days after they arrive in Queensland – penalties will apply for people who do not.
Ms Palaszczuk said it was important to reunite families, especially in time for Christmas.
“This is going to be a very, very special time of the year and as a government we’ve been very conscious of how important this is, to reunite families,” she said.
The state recorded zero new community cases, and three cases were detected in hotel quarantine in the past 24 hours.
Queensland was to open its borders when 80 per cent of residents over the age of 16 were fully vaccinated.
“We can’t predict exactly when but we know it’s going to be this week,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, please seek testing as soon as possible.
If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, please seek testing as soon as possible.
Find your nearest testing site at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/COVIDtesting
More information on health advice and requirements for households is available at
www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/COVIDcontacttracingFor more information: SA COVID-19 Information Line 1800 253 787; sahealth.sa.gov.au/COVID2019.
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