Qld-NSW border clock may be reset as Sydney records three COVID cases
The November 1 reopening date for the Queensland-NSW border could be pushed back, as NSW health officials scramble to trace three new coronavirus cases identified in Sydney overnight.
NSW Health has 48 hours to find out where the infections originated, otherwise Queensland will treat them as community transmission cases and the border clock will reset.
Police stop vehicles at the Queensland-NSW border in Coolangatta on the Gold Coast earlier this month.Credit:Getty Images - Chris Hyde
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the new cases were found in western Sydney - a woman in her 50s from the Camden local government area, a man in his 50s from Wollondilly Shire, and a woman in her 50s from Parramatta.
There was "no obvious source" of the infection in the woman from Camden, Dr Chant said. The two other patients were being interviewed by contact tracers.
"We did have a good run of 10 or 11 days [without local cases], and my expectation is that will happen again," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
"My expectation is we'll be able to get on top of these three cases, although I have yet to get further updates on the progress Health has made in the last few hours.
"It's fair to say that this is a good wake-up call, but we're living in a pandemic.
"We're managing it well. But we will never be out of the woods until there's a vaccine."
Queensland recorded no new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with only seven active coronavirus cases in the state and 4148 tests conducted in the past 24 hours.
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles said it was too early to say whether the border clock needed to be reset, adding that the three new NSW coronavirus cases were "certainly enough reason to be concerned".
Queensland requires NSW to record 28 days with no unlinked community transmission for the border to reopen.
"If they [three new western Sydney cases] can be linked to existing clusters they would not be considered an unlinked case," he said.
Asked about concerns NSW might not reach the 28-day clearance, Mr Miles said it was the standard "set by the committee of our chief health officers and adopted by us as the national standard".
Speaking in Mount Isa, where she is touring on day two of the state’s election campaign, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state would stick to its 28-day rule.
"That’s the advice from [Chief Health Officer] Dr [Jeannette] Young.
"It’s not only the advice from Dr Young. All health professionals got together and their proposal … was that 28 days clear of community transmission should have been a national approach and unfortunately, that didn’t go to national cabinet."
Toby Crockford is a breaking news reporter at the Brisbane Times
Lucy is the urban affairs reporter for the Brisbane Times, with a special interest in Brisbane City Council.
Lydia Lynch is Queensland political reporter for the Brisbane Times
Mary Ward is a reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.