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Queensland Border Restrictions

Queensland puts restrictions on Sydney travelers

Queensland has today declared the greater Sydney area a COVID-19 hotspot, following increasing cases across the NSW capital.

Today, 34 (31 new plus three previously declared) local government areas have been declared hotspots by the Chief Health Officer Dr. Jeannette Young, meaning as of 1 am Saturday, August 1, people who have been there within the last 14 days will be turned away at our border unless they are residents.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said community transmission had increased.

“We have seen more cases of community transmission spreading across a wider area of Sydney,” The Premier said.

“This includes areas frequented by tourists, travelers, and large numbers of Sydney locals.

“Throughout this pandemic, we have acted quickly to put the health of Queenslanders first.

“And that’s what we’re doing here.”

Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles said that since the weekend, cases of community transmission had arisen in Potts Point, the local government area that included Kings Cross.

“While overall case numbers in NSW have remained reasonably stable – between 10 to 20 a day – there are more cases, across more areas with an unknown source of infection.

“As of Friday, if you come from Sydney or anywhere in Victoria, you will be turned away at the border or be required to quarantine if you’re a Queensland resident.”

Dr. Young recommended any Queenslanders currently in these hotspots to make their way home before 1 am Saturday.

“If you are in Sydney please take this opportunity to come home to the safety of Queensland,” Dr Young said.

“If an area where you are staying or visiting is suddenly declared a hotspot while you are there, once you return to Queensland, you will have to quarantine for two weeks in a hotel at your own expense,” she said.

The only exception to this is people who are needed in Queensland for essential purposes and Queensland residents – these people can enter the state but will be required to quarantine in government-provided accommodation at their expense.

“Our job is to protect Queenslanders and, given the situation in Sydney and in Victoria, we need to implement tough measures.”

The fees for two weeks of accommodation, meals, and room cleaning are $2,800 for one adult; $3,710 for two adults in the same room; and $4,620 for two adults and two children in the same room.

For more information about public health directions, visit www.health.qld.gov.au.

Dr. Young encouraged all Queenslanders to remember hygiene basics, stay home if they were unwell, and to come forward and get tested if they had any symptoms.

ENDS

Media contact – Amy Hunter 0423 651 484

NSW declared hotspots as at 1 am August 1, 2020. This includes LGAs already declared.

Bayside
Blacktown City
Blue Mountains City
Burwood
Camden
Campbelltown City
Canada Bay City
Canterbury-Bankstown
Central Coast
Cumberland
Fairfield City
Georges River
Hawkesbury City
Hornsby Shire
Hunter’s Hill Municipality
Inner West
Ku-ring-gai
Lane Cove Municipality
Liverpool City
Mosman Municipality
North Sydney
Northern Beaches
Parramatta City
Penrith City
Randwick City
Ryde City
Strathfield Municipality
Sutherland Shire
Sydney City
The Hills Shire
Waverley
Willoughby City
Wollondilly Shire
Woollahra City

Care Army Journey Begins in Townsville

Here at YWAM Townsville, we are helping to extend the reach of Queensland’s Care Army across the state’s north by coordinating our local volunteers to provide much-needed support to seniors through the pandemic. The Minister for Communities and Minister for Disability Services and Seniors and Member for
Mundingburra Coralee O’Rourke visited us today to see first-hand the role we are playing in rolling out the Care Army in Townsville.

The Care Army was announced on April 1 by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, as a way to look out for those most at risk from COVID-19. Mrs O’Rourke said the Care Army’s main aim was to help seniors stay home and stay safe.

“We know that people who are aged over 70, 65 years and older with a chronic health condition or over 50 if they’re of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent are particularly at risk of serious complications from this virus,” she said. “The Care Army plays a crucial role in making sure older Queenslanders have enough food, access to all their medication needs, and are able to stay socially connected while isolating in their homes.

Here at YWAM we play a key role in coordinating the Care Army in Townsville, working with local community groups to pinpoint the greatest need for volunteers. We will connect vulnerable Queenslanders to the volunteers and community groups that can deliver the requested support.

For more information, visit:  https://www.covid19.qld.gov.au/carearmy

Interview with Coralee O’Rourke Final .wav

Festival Postponed Due to COVID-19

Today, Townsville City Council announced that NAFA (North Australia Festival of Arts) and Fringe Festival will be postponed until further notice due to COVID-19. This decision comes after The Federal Governments advice on non-essential gatherings during this time. Mayor Jenny Hill said, the real issue is we don’t know what things will look like tomorrow, let alone in four weeks, so to say when we can continue these events is still up in the air. Rather than cancelling the event altogether, Council has decided to postpone it, in hopes that as soon as numbers of infections reduce, and restrictions are taken away they can proceed with booking these events and artists and put them back on the city event calendar. “NAFA is a big part of our events calendar, which brought in 4.1 million last year as far as economic impact and we saw an increase of 8.6 percent increase in accommodation in hotels and other places. So, we are trying to bring back normality as much and as soon as possible, which is why we are postponing instead of cancelling it,” Cr. Jenny Hill explained.

If you are looking for things to do because of all the event postponements, Hill said we still have beautiful parks, beaches and walks you can go on as well as Magnetic Island which is still open. In the meantime, the mayor seemed hopeful that despite everything, and despite the restrictions, Townsville’s confirmed cases are still really low, and she urges us to stay calm as we are still operating pretty normally compared to other cities and states, and to enjoy things we still can do.

Council Prepared for Coronavirus

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill talked today on Council’s pandemic plan and business continuity plan in response to COVID-19. Mayor Hill seemed positive that Townsville is still low risk compared to other surrounding cities, with only 2 confirmed cases out of a population of 200,000. She encouraged Townsville that the council has put in a pandemic plan, but not to panic, to be cautious. Right now the only things being talked about are how the virus will affect events coming up, such as ANZAC Day and Groovin the Moo, as well as how businesses and staff in the city will be affected. Mayor Hill said “Our role is to help protect our workforce and community and maintain essential services to the city.” Their IT team has already looked into who all could possibly work from home if needed. They are looking into how to better handle blue collared workers or orange shirt workers who still need to continue working, yet how to minimize the spread of the virus if one of these workers were to contract the virus. She said they will have more clarity on public events and whether or not they will be cancelled or postponed tomorrow, Tuesday, 17th of March. As of right now public events have a more likely chance of being cancelled starting in April and going until further notice, however private events should still be able to go on, since the people going are being filtered and monitored. With talk about cancelling events, it means hotels will have last minute gaps to fill until further notice, and with Townsville having some of the nicest winter weather, Mayor Hill talked about the idea of hosting all NRL leagues and games right here in Townsville saying that she believes we would have the capacity to host them, if that is something the league wants to look into as things further progress. Mayor Hill states, “I have every faith in our local health services, and we will continue to work in full cooperation with them,” and will keep the community updated on the impacted events as soon as possible to make sure we stay informed. 

Brave, Funny, Naughty Maritime Cats

By: Anne Rinaudo

While the many extraordinary exploits of the seafarers who mapped the world have been well documented, those of their cats have not. Cats have been indispensable pest controllers, shipmates, and mascots for sailors for thousands of years.