Brisbane has recorded one local COVID-19 case, the state government has taken the sensible precautionary measure to lockdown Greater Brisbane for 3 days to assess the situation, and yet several Australian states and territories have already shut their borders to Queensland or imposed draconian isolation requirements.
Here’s South Australia:
Anyone coming into the state from the region from midnight tonight will be required to quarantine for two weeks.
Anyone who has been in the area since the second of January will be required to be tested…
“Anybody who has been in the Greater Brisbane area since 2 January will be required to have testing here in South Australia and those people will be advised by SMS later today,” said Mr Marshall.
Here’s Tasmania:
Tasmania has declared Greater Brisbane a high risk area, banning arrivals from that city and forcing those recently arrived into quarantine…
“Any traveller arriving in Tasmania from today who has been in the Greater Brisbane area since 2 January will need to immediately quarantine for up to 14 days. If they do not have a suitable premises they will be placed into a Government quarantine hotel.”
Here’s the NT:
Northern Territory has declared greater Brisbane a COVID-19 hotspot and will require travellers to quarantine.
Michael Gunner said the greater Brisbane area has been declared a hotspot, effective immediately.
“This means anyone arriving in the Territory today from the area will have to enter mandatory two-week quarantine,” the chief minister said.
“Unfortunately right now there are incoming flights from Brisbane about to land in Yulara and in Darwin.”
“People on these flights will be given the option of returning to Brisbane or entering mandatory quarantine.”
Whereas NSW, which currently has 197 active local COVID-19 cases, has ordered anyone entering the state via QLD to isolate:
Acting NSW Premier John Barilaro said anyone who has been in Brisbane since 12.01am on January 2 and is in New South Wales now is expected to stay isolated…
If you are already in New South Wales and you have travelled to New South Wales from those locations since 12:01am on the 2 January, we expect you to stay isolated.”
These knee jerk lockdowns make a mockery of the change in the national anthem’s lyrics to “we are one and free”.
We are more divided than ever, too willing to throw up the state shutters at the earliest opportunity.
