Queensland premier is being stopped in the street by people pleading with her not to reopen borders after coronavirus spike in Victoria
- Queenslanders are stopping Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to discuss borders
- She says the majority are concerned about community transmission of COVID
- On Saturday Ms Palaszczuk claims people told her they didn't want borders open
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says her constituents agree with her decision not to rush into opening state borders following a spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria.
The state Labor leader on Monday said Queenslanders regularly stop her in the street to tell her they are happy to keep the borders closed to the rest of Australia if it means avoiding a second wave of the deadly respiratory infection.
In Victoria COVID-19 cases have been steadily rising since last week, making up about 83 per cent of the nation's newly diagnosed cases in the last seven days.
On Monday, a further 16 cases were diagnosed while 44 were identified across the weekend.
A medical worker takes a sample from a person at a drive-through COVID-19 pop-up testing clinic at the Keilor Community Hub in Melbourne
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says her constituents are stopping her in the street to say they agree with her decision not to rush into opening state borders following a spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria
Ms Palaszczuk said residents in the Sunshine State had reason to be worried.
She visited a hospital on Saturday night with her family, and said people stopped her to express their concern.
'They were very concerned about community transmission... and Victoria. That was unprompted,' she said.
'They were coming up to me... everyone is concerned... and everyone should be. There is a lot of community transmission.'
Ms Palaszczuk said her main focus in the coming weeks and months is to avoid a second wave in her state.
Victoria has diagnosed another surge in coronavirus infections as family and work clusters expand and derail plans of Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) to reopen the state
Australians have been warned to stay away from six council in Melbourne: Hume, Casey and Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin
A sign out the front of a shopping centre in Victoria was encouraging people with symptoms of coronavirus to get tested
'We do not want to see a second wave, and that's another thing people are stopping me about in the street. They do not want to see a second wave in Queensland.'
She expects National Cabinet will discuss concerns surrounding Victoria and the sudden uptake in cases later this week.
In the meantime, she remained tight lipped on the scheduled border opening.
Originally, Ms Palaszczuk penciled in July 10 as the day she would likely reopen her state to interstate travellers, but now she does not seem so certain.
Her understanding is that Prime Minister Scott Morrison would prefer states not reopen for some states and not others.
South Australia has already indicated it would reopen borders for everywhere but New South Wales and Victoria, sparking an outcry from places which have found themselves excluded from the travel bubble.
Police are seen stopping cars at a check point on the Queensland and New South Wales border
Victorians are seen wearing face masks as they leave Melbourne's Flinders Street Station on Sunday (pictured) as cases grow across Victoria
The Australian government has forged its own path toward stopping the virus, managing to slow the spread of the deadly disease, without following advice from the WHO. Pictured: Nurses at Sydney Airport
Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos, and Premier Daniel Andrews arrive to give more bad news about coronavirus outbreaks in the state
'We've made it really clear that the Chief Health Officer will be making a decision at the end of this month,' she said. 'She'll be making a decision and providing advice to Government.
'The AHPCC has also said they have concerns about Victoria and I have concerns about Victoria.
'There is a lot of active community transmission happening in Victoria and I hope that Victoria can get this community transmission under control.'
National Cabinet is scheduled to meet on Friday and will likely discuss reopening the borders.
'I think that's the responsible thing to do,' she said. 'I think we'll have a very lengthy discussion about this.'
On Monday, following the announcement of 16 new COVID-19 cases in Victoria, the New South Wales government issued a warning against travelling to the state.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said the spike in Victorian caseswas 'a wake up call for all of us' and urged people to avoid travelling to the area
People shop at the Queen Victoria Market while wearing face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of novel coronavirus
Officials said residents should avoid all travel to affected areas in Victoria - and said even metropolitan Melbourne was high risk.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said the spike was 'a wake up call for all of us'.
'At this stage, the advice is do not travel to those hot spots,' she told reporters on Monday.
'Do not go to the hot spots. Reconsider your plans. Reconsider what you're doing.
'But certainly, Melbourne is a discretion. We would recommend people not at this stage travel to Melbourne unless they have to.
'The strong recommendation from the New South Wales Government, including our health officials is - do not travel to those hot spots at all. And consider your travel to Melbourne at this stage.'
Victoria and NSW are the only two states not to bring in any border restrictions during the pandemic.
Victoria's coronavirus spike threatens to delay three Australian states from reopening their borders
The spike in Victorian cases has made health authorities in Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia wary of reopening their borders.
Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles said a powerful second wave of coronavirus could be devastating for Queenslanders.
'It will be so much harder on businesses in the long run if we can't stick to our recovery plans because of further outbreaks,' he told The Sunday Mail.
'Queenslanders have done a good job, making many sacrifices, to keep our communities safe.
'This is a reminder that this pandemic is not over for us yet and we cannot afford to become complacent.'
Three Australian states are wary of opening their borders after Victoria had a spike in coronavirus cases on Saturday. Pictured: signage on the Queensland and NSW border in April
Western Australia's government has maintained its hardline border closure will remain for as long as there is sustained community spread of the virus in the eastern states.
Premier Mark McGowan has refused to put a date on welcoming interstate visitors and is likely to further ease restrictions within WA before opening the border.
South Australia is due to reopen on July 20 but its government is closely monitoring the situation in Victoria and has not ruled out staying closed.
'We will not open our borders to Victoria unless it is safe to do so,' Health Minister Stephen Wade said on Saturday.
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