Brisbane visitors ‘ free’

Thousands out of isolation after lockdown lifted

THOUSANDS of travellers who arrived in Tasmania from the Greater Brisbane area have been told they can leave isolation after the Queensland capital ended its own coronavirus lockdown.

Visitors from the Greater Brisbane area who arrived before 9am on Friday, January 8 are now free to travel about Tasmania as health authorities believe they pose little risk of having the virus.

But those who arrived from Greater Brisbane after that time have been asked to remain in isolation for at least another 48 hours.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk moved quickly to lock Brisbane down last week after a quarantine hotel cleaner contracted the fast- moving mutant UK variant of COVID- 19.

During the lockdown there were no locally acquired cases of coronavirus and the restriction was lifted at 6pm on Monday.

Those who arrived here on Friday are required to remain in isolation in governmentprovided hotel accommodation and they will not have to pay because of the swift nature of the decision, Health Minister Sarah Courtney said.

“It is good news today Queensland has again not had any positive cases for the third day in a row with high testing levels retained,” she said.

“We’re advised that around two- thirds of those close contacts have tested negative and we’re expecting the remaining results soon.

“We’re also advised those people that arrived in Tasmania on Friday the 8th prior to 9am do not pose a risk, this is because they have not been identified as a close contact of the case.

“Those who arrived after 9am, Friday, January 8 will have to remain in quarantine or isolation.”

Director of

Public Health

Dr Mark Veitch said there has been no contact tracing that indicates there was anyone in the state who was in an affected Brisbane area.

“The evidence so far from that testing in Brisbane and the identification of the contacts Queensland Health was able to do over the last few days gives us great confidence … ( an infected person) has not come to Tasmania,” he said.

Dr Veitch said Public Health would continue to take a “cautious” approach, requiring the remaining travellers from Brisbane to stay in quarantine because of the slight chance they may have been exposed to COVID- 19.

“There are a couple of thousand people who would have come to Tasmania from Greater Brisbane last week, but before Friday ( January 8) at 9am, and it’s those couple of thousand we can assure they don’t have to isolate,” he said.

There are 600 people in home quarantine from Greater Brisbane and 106 in hotel quarantine from high- risk parts of Brisbane and Sydney.