Police turn away 561 people at Qld border since latest COVID outbreak emerged
Almost 250 cars carrying 561 people have been turned away at the NSW-Queensland border since the latest COVID-19 outbreak emerged in Sydney just over a week ago, police reported on Sunday.
Sydney's Northern Beaches area, centred around Avalon, was declared a COVID-19 hotspot by Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young on December 19.
A total of 245 cars carrying 561 passengers have been turned away from the Queensland border since the latest NSW coronavirus outbreak on December 19.Credit: Getty
Since then, the hotspot has grown to encompass the entire Greater Sydney area, including the Blue Mountains and Wollongong.
Seven new cases of COVID-19 were reported in NSW on Sunday for the previous 24 hours, but NSW health authorities are concerned about several mystery cases that are not connected to the Northern Beaches cluster.
While no new cases were reported in Queensland in the past 24 hours, 27 cars with 74 passengers were stopped at the Queensland-NSW border at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads, Queensland Police said.
Overall, 245 cars carrying 561 passengers have been rejected by police at the border since the Greater Sydney restrictions were introduced.
All crew and passengers from the Lady E, which moored in Cairns last week, are now in hotel quarantine, Queensland Health says.
In the past 24 hours Queensland Police have reprimanded and fined seven people at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads border stops.
Five were issued with $1334 fines, or penalty infringement notices, while a 34-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man, both from NSW, were each fined $4003 for giving false information on their border pass.
Meanwhile, the six crew and 14 guests of the Lady E superyacht that moored in Cairns last Monday are now all in hotel quarantine, Queensland Health said.
The Lady E docked in Cairns after a month in the Maldives, with authorities trying to trace the source of the infection on the 75-metre vessel.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath called out the group for their lack of co-operation with police after a 20-year-old female crew member tested positive on Thursday, however the Lady E's captain said they had done nothing wrong and that two people on board had previously been cleared of the virus.
Queensland still has 11 active cases of COVID-19, all of them in hotel quarantine.
Overall, the state has endured 1241 COVID-19 cases, with six people dying. However, 1217 patients have recovered and more than 1.46 million tests have been carried out to December 26.
Tony Moore is a senior reporter at the Brisbane Times