Queensland goes it alone, closes consular staff quarantine loophole
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has decided to go it alone and overrule the national exemption to COVID-19 regulations for diplomatic and consular staff.
Any such staff who come to Queensland from overseas or interstate hotspots will be forced into hotel quarantine, with the Premier declaring she "can't wait" for other states to get on board.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she "just can't wait" for other states to get onboard and will go it alone.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the change would take effect from Wednesday and exemptions to hotel quarantine for diplomatic and consular staff would only be granted in "extremely extenuating circumstances", as was the case for everyday Queenslanders.
"This exemption is a problem. We’ve seen that in Queensland this week. A person was able to arrive in Queensland from overseas on a consular exemption, and he had COVID-19," Dr Young said.
"I am very grateful to this person – he did all the right things – but was granted an exemption from hotel quarantine. We can no longer allow this ... the risk is simply too high."
It comes as Queensland police investigate documents used to grant diplomatic quarantine exemptions to a COVID-positive private security contractor who landed in Sydney from Afghanistan last week, caught a connecting flight to the Sunshine Coast and then drove to his Toowoomba home.
Ms Palaszczuk forwarded the documents provided to state health authorities, including a letter on a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade letterhead, to the police commissioner to investigate.
More to come.