Qld eases restrictions

THE Queensland Government has announced that its state borders will reopen for domestic tourism from midday 10 Jul, following a three-month hard border period that has been in place since Mar.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed the highly anticipated decision yesterday, but qualified the announcement by stating the borders would not yet be open to Victorian visitors in light of a spike in COVID-19 cases in the state.

The Premier warned that Qld “cannot risk” welcoming Victorian tourists at this time, indicating that any person visiting from Victoria would be required to pay for their own two weeks of quarantine accommodation.

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) welcomed Palaszczuk’s decision to ease restrictions, suggesting the move straddled the needs of both health and the economy.

“This is a step in the right direction which strikes the right balance between the necessary caution and getting the economy restarted,” CEO Darren Rudd said.

MEANWHILE, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has requested permission from Prime Minister Scott Morrison to divert all international flights away from Melbourne for two weeks while the state deals with the latest rise in COVID-19 cases.

The request follows a report which suggested the majority of the its new cases are attributed to infection control breaches within assigned quarantine hotels.

In light of the Victorian spike, South Australia has also decided to scrap its planned reopening of borders with the state on

20 Jul, and NSW is preventing Melbourne residents from COVID-19 hotpots from crossing the border.