Queensland closes border to Sydney as two women test positive for Covid-19 after failing to self-isolate

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is “absolutely furious” that two women returned to Queensland from Victoria without self-isolating and have now tested positive to coronavirus.

Responding to the development, Palaszczuk declared that greater Sydney will be a coronavirus hotspot from Saturday morning, catching New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian by surprise. Queensland’s borders are already closed to anyone from Victoria.

Palaszczuk said the decision was made because greater Sydney was seeing more outbreaks.

The positive cases are the first in Queensland outside quarantine since May. Queensland has now closed aged care facilities and a school where one of the women worked, and restaurants, shops and churches could also be affected.

The two 19-year-old women, from Acacia Ridge and Logan, returned to Queensland from Melbourne via Sydney on 21 July.

They did not self-isolate, despite the rule that everyone entering Queensland who has been in Victoria in the past 14 days should do so.

Police are investigating the women and will allege they provided false information on their border declaration passes, deputy police commissioner Steve Gollschewski said on Wednesday morning.

Palaszczuk said the next 24 to 48 hours would be “crucial” in Queensland.

“We need to be making sure that any of those people who may have come into contact with the two confirmed cases need to go into quarantine and also need to be tested,” she said at a press conference.

She said it was “incredibly important, now more than ever” that anyone feeling sick should get a test.

The premier also said the Queensland government would be taking pre-emptive action in case the virus had spread through the community.

Aged care facilities in Brisbane’s metro south area will be closed to visitors and will have enhanced screening for staff, who will not be able to work across multiple facilities.

Deputy premier and health minister Steven Miles said Queensland had learnt from other states and the most important thing now was to make sure that nobody in an aged care facility is exposed.

One of the women had attended work as a cleaner at Parkland Christian College, which has now been closed for a deep clean. A clinic will be established at the school.

Miles flagged that the government may also need to close shopping centres, restaurants and churches.

“These young women have gone about their business within the communities that they live in and so there will be a large amount of contact tracing to be done, largely within the Logan and Springfield areas, including shopping malls, restaurants and a church,” Miles said at a press conference.

Miles urged everybody speaking to contact tracers to be “fulsome and honest”.

“The impacts of breaking Covid rules and being dishonest and exposing people to the virus can be massive,” Miles said.

Chief health officer Jeanette Young described the situation as “disappointing” and encouraged anyone in south Brisbane with any symptoms at all to get a test.

“If everyone in the southern part of Brisbane absolutely commits to do that today then we will all be a lot safer. That is far, far more effective than wearing masks,” she said.

“These two young women have been out in the community for eight days while unwell,” Young said, promising to release a detailed list of locations and venues the women visited later on Wednesday.

The women travelled on flights VA 863 and PA 977.